Piecing Together the Shattered Heirloom: Parents' Experiences of Relationship Resilience After the Violent Death of a Child

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand eight heterosexual individual parents' lived experiences of relationship resiliency in the midst of sudden violent death bereavement for a child. Relationship resiliency is defined as the experience of the relationship with one's spouse as a protective factor and secure base from which to grieve and heal from trauma. Moustakas' (1994) transcendental phenomenological approach was employed. The essence of relationship resilience was the bereaved parent's experience of the marriage as: (1) safe, secure, and protected; (2) mutually understanding; and (3) able to reintegrate and reorganize their relationship.