A child in the face of death. How do children describe their experience of a loss of a close person?

• Authors: Zdankiewicz-Ścigała, Elżbieta , Herda, Magdalena , Odachowska, Ewa

Abstracts

EN

The aim of the current study was to examine how children describe an experience of losing their close ones. We analysed how children structure and make sense of their experiences of losing somebody. We also wondered, if, basing on the analysis of the experiences’ descriptions, it is possible to determine factors which make it easier or harder to handle the death of somebody close. The experiment was exploratory and descriptive, so the questions asked were as follows: (1) How do children describe their experience of losing somebody close? (2) Are there any significant qualitative differences in the way of describing the trauma connected with the loss of somebody close? The study was based on the psychological assumptions of the theory of experiencing a loss, on the division of the mourning into stages, and also on shaping and giving a meaning to the frame of mind by a narrative. Forming own needs can be a healing factor, and experiencing emotions, both positive and negative ones, helps to get through the process of mourning. In accordance with the stages of mourning it was assumed that a possibility of a farewell with the departed ones, even symbolic, influences the adaptation process after the loss and, therefore, the psychological wellbeing. It was also assumed that an important factor helpful in building a coherent history of a loss is a support of adults from the child’s surrounding. The study showed a number of correlations and relationships between analysed variables. The obtained results can be an implication for further analysis and they can set direction for following research.

Keywords

EN

trauma; mourning; death; children’s narratives

• Publisher: Akademia Pedagogiki Specjalnej im. Marii Grzegorzewskiej. Wydawnictwo APS
• Journal: Psychologia Wychowawcza
• Year: 2018
• Volume: 55(13)
• Pages: 25-38

Dates

published

2019-11-24

Contributors

author

Zdankiewicz-Ścigała, Elżbieta

author

Herda, Magdalena

author

Odachowska, Ewa