Parental Death, Shifting Family Dynamics, and Female Identity Development

Abstract

This article is a report of research that explored how the death of a parent influences a woman's identity development. Qualitative methodology and data analysis procedures based on grounded theory were used for the research. Eighteen women who experienced parental death between age 11 and 17, were recruited by convenience sampling. Shifts in family relationships and roles, in part, influenced who these young women became. Many young women were expected to take on a caregiving role to support the surviving parent and replace the deceased. The transition in the relationship between the adolescent girl and surviving parent was an important theme for identity development.