This study compared perceptions of family functioning in families bereaved by an adolescent or young adult child’s sudden violent death (accident, homicide, or suicide), parents’ perceptions of family functioning based on parental role, and described the family typologies represented in a population-based sample of parents. A sample of 135 bereaved parents provided data over three time points. Results of the study showed that bereaved mothers and fathers rated their families as more flexible than did a normative sample, and fathers rated their families as less close than the normative group. Clinical and methodological implications for the findings are discussed.
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