Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Kathryn Howell

Committee Member

Kristoffer Berlin

Committee Member

Cynthia Gerhardt

Committee Member

Leigh Harrell-Williams

Abstract

Previous research highlights the importance of positive parenting and communication after the death of a loved one. Little is known, however, about how these constructs vary depending on the amount of prolonged grief symptoms children and their parents concurrently display. Using latent variable mixture modeling, the current study assessed patterns of parent and child grief in a sample of 107 parent-child dyads. Children averaged 12.6 years old and were majority female (55%). The most frequently reported race was Black or African American (48% of parents and 47% of children). Eighty percent of caregivers within the sample reported that they were the biological parent of the child and 86% of caregivers were female. Differences were examined between derived profiles on parent- and child-reported communication and parenting. A 3-profile solution emerged from the data: 1) Grieving Child Dyad, 2) Subthreshold Grief Dyad, and 3) Grieving Dyad. Next, predictors of group membership (i.e., time since death, type of death, relationship to deceased, child age, and child gender) were analyzed. Child age was a significant predictor and thus retained in the model. Differences were observed between the Grieving Child Dyad and the Grieving Dyad on parent-reported positive and negative parenting, as well as between the Grieving Dyad and the Subthreshold Dyad on parent-reported positive parenting and parent communication. The Subthreshold Dyad and Grieving Child Dyad also differed on parent-reported negative parenting and parent-restricted topics. No profile differences were found on any of the child-reported parenting and communication variables. These results underscore that high grief experienced in tandem by parents and children may positively influence parent-child interactions, whereas parents and children grieving at low rates may be more likely to have poorer parenting and communication. These findings inform future research on bidirectional parent and child grief, grief interventions within the family system, and assessment within the field of thanatology.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest

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