A child's sudden death is a highly traumatic event for parents and siblings. This study examined mental distress and family functioning in a sample of 32 married couples that were part of a larger study of parents whose adolescent or young adult children had died suddenly by accident, suicide, or homicide. Parents were recruited into the study 4–7 months after the child's death. Cohesion, flexibility, and mental distress were the variables of interest, and individual scores were compared at three time points: baseline, 6 and 18 months later. The variables examined point to theoretical and practical problems clinicians might encounter when planning interventions with bereaved families to promote optimal coping, cohesion, and flexibility after a child's violent death.
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