A Descriptive Qualitative Study On The Grief Experience Of Parents Who Lost Their Only Chil

Purpose:This study adopts a descriptive research method to reveal the inner feelings and experiences of parents who have lost their children due to grief,and to understand their behavior and cognition when dealing with grief stimuli.Exploring the essence of mourning for the loss of independence,summarizing positive experiences in dealing with grief,maximizing the positive power and qualities of parents who have lost independence,and helping relevant workers enhance their understanding of the group of people who have lost independence,providing them with better social support and grief counseling work.Method:The method of this study is descriptive research in qualitative research,which uses the researcher himself as the research tool.Using the snowball sampling method,13 missing parents from five communities in Shenyang City were selected as the research subjects from February 2022 to December 2022.A general survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview method were used to investigate the research subjects.The collected data is organized and analyzed through traditional content methods,with the process of mourning for lost children as the axis.The real experiences and feelings of lost parents experiencing mourning for lost children,as well as the changes in their adaptation methods when dealing with different intensity of grief stimuli,are analyzed and discussed.The essential characteristics of mourning for lost children and their impact on lost parents are deeply considered and explored.Result:This study conducted in-depth interviews with 13 parents who had lost their only child,and based on continuous reading,analysis,and refinement of their interview materials,summarized 4 themes and 17 sub themes,namely:(1)The acute sadness in the early stages of losing a child: unbearable longing and pain,resistance to accepting reality,self blame and guilt,resentment towards unfair fate;(2)Reactions when dealing with sadness: severing social relationships,negative avoidancestrategies,self denial,a sense of unintentionalness towards life,enduring pain and continuing to live;(3)Gradually adapting to sadness: expressing emotions through various ways of connection,forcing oneself to be strong,and beautifying the deceased to be comforted;(4)Learn to coexist with sadness:Negative aspects: helplessness after recognizing reality;Helplessness and confusion towards the future;Positive aspects: resettling the deceased in their hearts;Proactively engage in self-regulation;Turn sadness into a positive force.Conclusion:When parents who have lost their only child experience grief,they will go through four stages: acute grief in the early stages of losing their child,grief management,gradual adaptation to grief,and the final period of grief recovery.Research has concluded that there are three main problems faced by parents after losingindependence:(1)After the loss of only child,the self-cognition is confused,the sense of self-worth is reduced,and the behavior of closing the heart and gradually social marginalization.This can lead to a sense of meaninglessness and,in severe cases,suicide.(2)In the grief theory,recognizing the fact of loss is the first step to recovering from grief.But many parents who have lost their only child can’t see this fact in a rational way,which makes their grief more intense and lasting,unable to get over the shadow of the loss.(3)Having no children means losing the pension security.Almost all Shidu parents worry about whether they can live the rest of their lives.Shidu parents also wish to get more powerful and comprehensive support from the government and society.