Hornung
Fakultäten » Philosophische Fakultät » Psychologisches Institut » Sozialpsychologie » Prof. Dr. Rainer Hornung » Hornung
Completed research project
| Title / Titel | Parents Caring for a Child with a Life-Limiting Illness: An Assessment of Individual and Dyadic Coping and Personal Growth | ||||
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| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||||
| Original title / Originaltitel | Dyadisches Coping und persönliche Reifung bei Eltern, deren Kind nach einer lebenslimitierenden Krankheit verstorben ist | ||||
| Summary / Zusammenfassung | Parents caring for a child with a life-limiting illness are confronted with a multitude of demands. The focus of this qualitative study is on parents experiencing end-of-life and bereavement care. Past literature mainly concentrated on pathogenetic outcomes such as depression or somatic symptoms. However, the salutogenetic perspective was rarely considered. In this study, the previous focus on pathogenetic outcomes in parents coping with the loss of their child is shifted toward a salutogenetic perspective: the main question to be addressed is how parents cope individually and as a couple with the enormous demands following the death of their child and whether some parents perceive personal growth from an attempt to cope with the loss of a child. The following three groups of diagnoses in children are included: a) cancer, b) neurological/metabolic disorders, and c) heart disease. Approximately ten parents per diagnostic group (30 mothers, 30 fathers) will be interviewed regarding end-of-life and bereavement care, different forms of coping (individual and dyadic coping), and personal growth. Reliable self-report questionnaires on coping strategies, impact on family, and on personal growth will complement the qualitative findings. Examining individual as well as dyadic coping and exploring personal growth in bereaved parents will enlighten new and essential aspects of implementing paediatric end-of-life and bereavement care. |
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| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | bereavement, parents, dyadic coping, personal growth, palliative care | ||||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
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| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
Foundation Krebsliga Zürich, Donation UBS AG by order of a client |
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| In collaboration with / In Zusammenarbeit mit |
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| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | Apr 2008 to Mar 2011 |