After a child's parent has died

In this preliminary study the author sought to ascertain some understanding of variability in surviving parents' and children's perceptions of family closeness, communication, and of the child's experience following the death of a parent. Data collected in interviews and from the Kvebaeck Family Sculpture Test suggest that not only do parents and children differ in their expectations for and experiences of communications about the parent's death but they also differ in their levels of felt closeness in the family, a situation which might markedly affect the child's subsequent emotional development.