Impact of End-of-Life Circumstances on the Adjustment of Bereaved Siblings of Children Who Died from Cancer

AbstractThe aim of this study was to examine the impact of end-of-life (EoL) circumstances on grief and internalizing symptoms among bereaved siblings. Bereaved families (N = 88) were recruited from three sites 3–12 months (M = 11.57, SD = 3.48) after their child’s death from cancer. One sibling per family aged 8–17 years (M = 12.41, SD = 2.64) was randomly selected to participate. Families completed measures of siblings’ grief and internalizing symptoms, as well as a structured interview about circumstances surrounding the death. Mother and sibling reports of EoL circumstances were generally concordant, exce pt there was a discrepancy between mothers and children about whether or not children expected their sibling’s death (t(75)  = 1.52,p = .018). Mother reports of sibling internalizing symptoms were above the normative mean (t(83)  = 4.44,p ≤ .001 (M = 56.01 ± 12.48), with 39% (n = 33) in the borderline/clinical range. Sibling opportunity to say goodbye was associated with greater grief-related growth (t(79)  = − 1.95,p = .05). Presence at the death and wishing they had done something differently were both associated with greater grief (t(80)  = − 2.08,p = .04 andt(80)  = − 2.24,p = .028, respectively) and grief-related growth (t(80)  = − 2.01,p = .048 andt(80)  = − 2.31,p = .024, respectively). However, findings were primarily unique to sibling report, with few...
Source: Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research