Spirituality and resilience in families in which a parent has died

This preliminary study explored the prevalence of spirituality in family resilience in the adaptation process after the loss of a parent. Twenty-five families who lost a parent between one and six years previously were identified by four postgraduate students in their respective neighborhoods in Cape Town, South Africa. Each of the single parents (M age=48.3 yr., SD=7.7), 19 women and six men, were asked to indicate verbally in what way spirituality or religion had contributed to family adaptation after the death of the spouse. The semistructured interviews supplied evidence that a relationship between spirituality and family resilience does indeed exist.