Luna National High School

Luyao, Luna, Isabela 3304

CHAPTER II

Review of Related Literature

This portion will focus on the following areas: (1) Early Parental

Loss, (2) Consequences of Loosing Parental Care (3) Individuals

Adjustments from Parental Loss. Different research studies that draw out

various results shall be exami432ned to give an overview of what has

been discovered currently on parental loss.

Early Parental Loss

Losses are so painful and frightening that many young children,

able to endure strong emotions for only brief periods, alternately approach

and avoid their feelings so as not to be overwhelmed. Because these

emotions may be expressed as angry outbursts or misbehavior, rather

than as sadness, they may not be recognized as grief-related.

Angela Nickerson, 2011, of the Massachusetts Veterans

Epidemiology Research and Information Center at the University of New

South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and her colleagues analyzed data from

2,823 adults who had all experienced the death of a parent during

childhood. She states:

“While the current study focused on the impact of adverse

parenting practices on psychological distress, it is
possible that positive family relationships and good

LNHS-SHS Research Department Qualitative Research Project S.Y. 2017-

2018
 Luna National High School
Luyao, Luna, Isabela 3304

parenting practices may act as a protective factor against

psychopathology following the loss of a parent. These
findings have important implications for theoretical
conceptualizations of psychological reactions following
the loss of a parent across the life span.” (Angela
Nickerson, 2011)

They used the World Health Organization Composite International

Diagnostic Interview to assess psychological impairment, parental care,

and other factors that could contribute to difficulties later in life.

Similarly, Kliman G, 1980, in Perspectives on

Bereavement estimates that 5 percent of children in the United States, 1.5

million, lose one or both parents by age 15.

Just as each type of relationship has special meaning, so too does

each type of death carry with it a special kind of pain for those who are left

behind. As one psychiatrist quotes in her book:

''When your parent dies, you have lost your past. When
your child dies, you have lost your future." (Eliot L.
1987)

The anguish of those left behind has always concerned

society, and every culture has mourning rituals to deal with that

pain. Today scientists, policymakers, educators, and the public are

all concerned with the nature of bereavement and its toll on

survivors.

LNHS-SHS Research Department Qualitative Research Project S.Y. 2017-

2018
 Luna National High School
Luyao, Luna, Isabela 3304

In 2008 the National Statistics Office indicated that more than

37 percent of the 1.8 million babies born in the Philippines, at least

666,000, had unmarried mothers, representing a worrying increase of

over 12 percent from the previous year and an upswing that has

become a trend in recent times.

In 2012, at least 13.9 million Filipinos are single parents who carry

the burden of raising their family by themselves. (National Statistics Office)

Losing a parent means a loss of childhood, of innocence, and a

part of oneself.

The quality of relationships within the family influences a child's

recovery after trauma. An important factor is whether the child feels safe

and secure within a loving supportive family, with a surviving partner who

is able to parent effectively. 

Consequences of Losing Parental Care

When a child experiences the death of a parent, the emotional

trauma can be devastating. Few studies have examined the impact of this

type of loss relative to the age of the child and the quality of parenting that

the child received after the loss.

Angela Nickerson, 2011, of the Massachusetts Veterans

Epidemiology Research and Information Center at the University of New

LNHS-SHS Research Department Qualitative Research Project S.Y. 2017-

2018
 Luna National High School
Luyao, Luna, Isabela 3304

South Wales in Sydney, Australia, sought to determine how this dynamic

affected these children across their life span. She says:

“As the life span progresses and the individual reaches

adulthood, the psychological and interpersonal
consequences of this disturbance may manifest in long-term
mental health problems. There is strong evidence that
aspects of the family environment, such as quality of
parental care and relationship with the surviving parent, are
important in affecting long-term psychological reactions
following parental loss.”

Furthermore, because their needs to be cared for and related to are

intense and immediate, young children typically move from grief reactions

to a prompt search for and acceptance of replacement persons.

Particular symptoms and syndromes associated with childhood

bereavement are generally considered in terms of the immediate

reactions that occur in the weeks and months following the death,

the intermediate reactions that can appear later in childhood or

adolescence, and the long-range or "sleeper" effects that may appear in

adulthood either as enduring consequences or delayed reactions to the

loss. The National Academy of Sciences listed the following

consequences:

First, Medical Consequences. A few investigators have suggested

a link between loss experiences and subsequent precipitation or

"activation" of specific diseases, such as thyrotoxicosis, rheumatoid

LNHS-SHS Research Department Qualitative Research Project S.Y. 2017-

2018
 Luna National High School
Luyao, Luna, Isabela 3304

arthritis, and diabetes.  The literature on the medical consequences of

bereavement in children is extremely limited, however.

Second, Psychiatric Consequences. A number of psychological

symptoms, most prominently neurosis and depression, appear to correlate

with parental or sibling death. Signs of continuing emotional distress have

been noted in both community and patient samples of children who lost a

parent or sibling.

Lastly, Behavioral Consequences. There is general agreement

among clinicians that parental bereavement has an adverse impact on

school functioning, both in academic performance and social behavior.

Several studies of Australian, Israeli, and American children 13 months to

6 years post bereavement showed evidence of examination failure, school

refusal, a decreased interest in school activities, and drop-out.

Individuals who lose a parent or sibling in childhood have been

considered to be most at risk for subsequent depressive disorders. Based

on his clinical observations, Bowlby J, 1980, he concludes that profound

early loss renders people highly vulnerable to subsequent depressive

disorders, with each subsequent loss triggering an upsurge of unresolved

grief initially related to the early bereavement.

He added that it is difficult to draw conclusions about the long-term

consequences of bereavement during childhood or adolescence. The data

LNHS-SHS Research Department Qualitative Research Project S.Y. 2017-

2018
 Luna National High School
Luyao, Luna, Isabela 3304

suggest potential difficulties, but there is a lack of specificity regarding

what places a bereaved youth at risk.

Concerning intermediate-term consequences, the existing literature

suggests that early bereavement greatly increases a child's susceptibility

to depression, school dysfunction, and delinquency. Given the immaturity

of the child's personality, it seems likely that even a minor depression of

13 months' duration might inhibit or interfere with normal ego

development, thereby disrupting or distorting psychological growth.

(Bowbly J.1982)

Individuals Adjustments from Parental Loss

Adults often become uneasy when called upon to deal with children

on topics of conception, birth, or death. Parents often fail to inform their

children when a loved one dies, or they do so in an inappropriate or

upsetting way, thereby increasing the likelihood of further distressing

youngsters who are incapable of seeking out the truth for them.

Furman E, 1974 recommends maintenance of personal contact

between child and parent for as long as the parent is not drastically altered

in appearance or in the ability to communicate with feeling.

A new study by Oregon State University year 2013, researchers

found that head start can make a positive impact in the lives of some of its

LNHS-SHS Research Department Qualitative Research Project S.Y. 2017-

2018
 Luna National High School
Luyao, Luna, Isabela 3304

highest risk children, both academically and behaviorally. It was found

that:

“Children in non-parental care showed more problems with

academics, behavior, and a wide variety of risk factors at the
beginning of the study. In addition, he impact we saw was
modest, not huge, but statistically significant. We think the
positive impact on child-teacher relationships is especially
important.” (Shannon Lipscomb,2013)

Providing best support to grieving children may be difficult, not only

because the parents themselves are extremely upset, but also because

they may be uncertain of what to expect from a child. Shannon Lipscomb,

2013, supports this claim saying that:

“These are kids who face heightened risk factors even beyond
those of other children living in poverty. They are more similar
to what we find in kids in child welfare. They have a lot of
challenges in their lives, and the stresses of that can cause
behavioral and development issues.”

Knowing that the child may ask distressing questions, such as

when will there be a new parent to replace the one who was lost, may

eliminate surprise and hurt. Such questions do not indicate a shallow

attachment to the deceased, but rather the manner in which young

children typically respond to loss. (National Academy of Sciences)

As Reed E, 1972, points out, children began asking questions

about death at an early age. They are naturally curious about such

phenomena and provide adults with opportunities to intervene.

LNHS-SHS Research Department Qualitative Research Project S.Y. 2017-

2018
 Luna National High School
Luyao, Luna, Isabela 3304

When informing a child of a family member's death, a number of

variables may be important, including who tells the child, the timing of the

information, and the manner in which the child is informed. (National

Academy of Sciences)

Telling a child that a parent or sibling is dead and will not be alive

again, and assuring him that the deceased no longer feels anything and is

no longer suffering are important elements of a discussion. Encouraging

questions is often an effective way to elicit concerns or fears that adults

would not have thought might be worrying the child. (Bowlby, J.1980)

Information should be geared to the child's emotional and

intellectual level and ample opportunities provided for the child to ask

questions about the death.

Although both short- and long-term distress should be expected

and are normal, some professional mental health intervention conceivably

may be useful for all bereaved children.

It is readily apparent that most bereaved individuals do not need

professional mental health treatment. Yet, there are certain symptoms and

circumstances of bereavement that are likely to warrant professional

intervention for people in all cultural groups.

In order to successfully work through the grief of a parent’s death,

individuals need to be open to dealing with their emotions completely, to

express them honestly, and discuss them with someone who can provide

LNHS-SHS Research Department Qualitative Research Project S.Y. 2017-

2018
 Luna National High School
Luyao, Luna, Isabela 3304

support. Only through this process will a person be able to resolve his or

her grief.

LNHS-SHS Research Department Qualitative Research Project S.Y. 2017-

2018