ADULTS VIEW THEIR CHILDHOOD BEREAVEMENT EXPERIENCES

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Abstract
This study sought to determine if depression is an inevitable outcome of childhood bereavement experiences , as the Freudians believed , or if children can experience healthy mourning , as Bowlby predicted . In an application of Q methodology , 43 adults parentally bereaved as children sorted statements about childhood bereavement experiences and outcomes in adulthood . Debriefing interviews followed . Four distinct types of experience emerged through factor analysis: appreciation , frustration , enmeshment , and ambivalence . Depression was not found to be an inevitable outcome , and Bowlby's prediction that certain positive family factors can influence a child toward healthy mourning during childhood were corroborated . Salient factors contributing to healthy childhood mourning included positive relationships between the child and both parents , ample emotional and psychological support from the surviving parent , and open and honest communication with the child about the death and its impact on the family .

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