Voices of middle childhood children who lost a mother

ABSTRACT

Children’s comprehension of death and how well they cope is fundamentally affected by their stage of development when they are bereaved. This qualitative descriptive research examines the emotions and experiences of children in middle childhood who have lost their mothers. Twenty-two participants between the ages of 10 and 12 years were purposefully selected to share their experiences during individual semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used to explore the data. Particular recommendations are made to help bereaved children develop greater resilience and the coping strategies to deal with their traumatic loss.

KEYWORDS:

• Childhood maternal bereavement
• coping strategies
• loss
• middle childhood
• mother

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alexandrea Parsons

Miss Alexandrea Parsons is a clinical psychologist at Witrand Specialized Hospital, South Africa. She is registered as a clinical psychologist (independent practice) at the HPCSA (PS0135950) since 2017 and has been working at Witrand Specialized Hospital ever since. Prior to this employment she worked at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital where her interests grew in forensic work, as well as the understanding and treatment of psychopathology. Miss Parsons is a MA graduate from the North West University (NWU) and currently completing her PhD through the University of South Africa (UNISA). Currently her research focus is in resilience and improvement of people’s well-being. With her research she aims to contribute to the body of knowledge in health and human sciences and to foster personal growth during psychotherapy.

Johan Botha

Prof Johan Botha is associate professor at the Faculty of Education, School of Psycho-Social Education at the North-West University (South Africa). He is a member of the International Society for Research on Aggression (ISRA). Johan holds academic and professional qualifications that include: HDE diploma; FDE diploma (Gifted Education); BEdHons (Cum Laude); and MEd (Cum Laude) from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He received the Chancellor’s Award for the best MEd (Cum Laude) in the Faculty of Education and Nursing at the Rand Afrikaans University (University of Johannesburg) in 2004. His doctorate is in Psychology of Education. In 2008, VDM Verlag Publishers in Germany published his book on the aggression of male teachers in South African schools. He has contributed several chapters and articles to books and accredited scientific journals both in South Africa and abroad. He is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences, and his papers have been published in peer-reviewed conference proceedings. He is also actively involved in the Edu-HRight Research Unit. His research field is Education, Psychology of Education, well-being, flourishing and mental health, with a special interest in behavioural difficulties such as aggression and violence in Educational contexts (Schools & Higher Education institutions). Johan has also been actively involved in postgraduate programme development, student supervision and has successfully supervised various Master's and PhD students. He aims at creating a research culture with a focus on Qualitative Research Methodology among his BEdHons, M and PhD students.

Ruan Spies

Ruan Spies is a senior lecturer in the School for Psychosocial Health, at the North West University (NWU), South Africa. He is registered as an independent practice clinical psychologist at the HPCSA (PS0105228) since 2010 and joined the NWU in 2013 and has been working there ever since. Prior to this employment he worked at Witrand Psychiatric Hospital where his interests grew in the understanding and treatment of psychopathology amongst adult populations. Dr. Spies is a PhD graduate from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam where his interest in child development and attachment theory was kindled. Currently his research focus is in child development, attachment theory and psychopathology. With his research he aims to contribute to the knowledge of the human sciences and to disseminate this knowledge to the broader community through his lectures and clinical supervision of future therapists.