Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society/Division of Social Work, Karolinska Institutet, 141 83, Huddinge, Sweden; Department of Health Care Sciences/Palliative Research Centre, Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College, Box 11189, 100 61, Stockholm, Sweden; Function Area in Social Work and Health, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: tina.lundberg@esh.se.
The knowledge about young adults who have lost a parent to cancer is limited, and to reach a broader understanding about this group, this study used the Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement (Stroebe and Schut, 1999) as a theoretical framework. The purpose of this study was to describe loss- and restoration-oriented bereavement stressors and psychosocial wellbeing of young adults following the loss of a parent to cancer.
This survey used baseline data from a longitudinal study. Young adults, aged 16-28 years, who lost a parent to cancer more than two months earlier and agreed to participate in support groups held at three palliative care services in Sweden, responded to a comprehensive theory-based study-specific questionnaire.
Altogether, 77 young adults (64 women and 13 men) answered the questionnaire an average of five-to-eight months after the loss. Twenty percent (n?=?15) had not been aware of their parent's impending death at all or only knew a few hours before the death, and 65% (n?=?50) did not expect the death when it occurred. The young adults reported low self-esteem (n?=?58, 76%), mild to severe anxiety (n?=?55, 74%), mild to severe depression (n?=?23, 31%) and low life satisfaction.
Young adults reported overall poor psychosocial wellbeing following bereavement. The unexpectedness and unawareness of the parent's imminent death, i.e., loss-oriented bereavement stressors, might influence psychosocial wellbeing. Despite these reports, restoration-oriented stressors, such as support from family and friends, helped them to cope with the loss.