Family Coping With COVID-19: Unexpected Parental Loss and Surviving Parent Coping, Grief and Posttraumatic Growth Outcomes Based on Child Age

Abstract

Guided by the conceptual framework of widowed parenting, the current study takes a relational approach to understand more about how the characteristics of parents of young and adult children relate to coping following the unexpected death of a partner due to COVID-19, and how these variables predict complicated grief and posttraumatic growth. A sample of 81 widowed parents completed self-report measures examining parenting self-efficacy, relationship uncertainty, coping, complicated grief, and posttraumatic growth. Results of hierarchical regression analyses suggest that, when controlling for time since death (1) relationship uncertainty and avoidant coping significantly predict complicated grief for parents in the sample with adult children, and (2) widowed parenting self-efficacy and both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping significantly predict posttraumatic growth for parents in the sample with young children. Results of the current study may inform future practices (e.g., use of Emotionally Focused Family Therapy) to aid families grieving an unexpected loss.