The psychological and emotional effects experienced by a child from the passing of a parent from a terminal illness

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to understand the effect of a parent’s terminal illness and subsequent death on the lives of children between the ages of one and twelve. It looks into the deep emotional feelings that these children experience and how they affect certain outcomes. The children’s stories presented throughout depict their feelings and experiences during the illness and follow through until after the death. In this way, we have looked into the reactions of children in different age groups. The differences in the children’s emotional reactions outline how their mourning process differs according to age and hence how the difference in the type of coping support they require also varies. The findings bring light to the important variations in the child’s lives which affect the grieving styles and mourning processes of these young children. How can adults, parents and teachers aid the emotional experiences and grieving processes of these bereaved children? Through the use of narrative strategies used by writers such as Grace Hyslop Christ, Erna Furman, James William Worden and others, we have outlined the major themes which affect the child’s mourning and how adults can invigorate these aspects to help shape a healthy emotional and developmental outcome for the child.