The search for meaning and its potential for affecting growth in bereaved parents

Because of the unique relationship between parent and child, the death of a child is a profound human loss which ultimately sends bereaved parents into a deep and painful existential "search for meaning." This search may ultimately be a key factor in a positive "growth" versus a negative "despair" resolution of the grief experience. This paper examines data from open-ended questions collected in three separate studies which asked bereaved parents in various ways to describe themselves. The purpose of this descriptive analysis was to seek clues in these self-descriptions regarding both positive and negative resolutions following the death of a child. Although the findings must be considered with caution because of convenience sample and the indirect methods of data collection, the findings indicate that many of the comments given by the parents suggest potentially positive outcomes.