Meanings adult daughters attach to a parent's death

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how meanings adult daughters attached to their parent's death influenced the duration of their grief. The sample consisted of 67 adult daughters, ages 35 to 69 years, who had lost a parent 1 to 3 years earlier. Respondents were asked to explore their perceptions about their parent's death, their lifelong parent-daughter relationship, and any lifestyle changes that occurred after a parent's death. Categories were identified from the interview questions, and themes within each category were developed from the interview data. Results indicated that how respondents experienced a parent's death--including their guilt, regrets, or anticipatory grief, shifts in other family relationships, and changes in lifestyle--influenced the duration of their grief. The findings suggest that the subjective experience of grief may be an important area for further research as well as for assessment and intervention.