The Role of Meaning and Purpose in Life in Bereaved Parents Associated with a Self-Help Group: Compassionate Friends

Abstract

The goal of this study was to explore the relationship of parental bereavement to meaning and purpose in life. Specifically, the study attempted to: 1) investigate the relationship of bereaved parents' perception of purpose in life, and specific parent, child, death, and grief characteristics; and 2) provide descriptive information on the role of meaning in parental bereavement. Two-hundred and three volunteers obtained through Compassionate Friends newsletters in seven cities in various parts of the United States completed a questionnaire consisting of the Purpose in Life Test, the Grief Experience Inventory and questions on meaning. Analysis of the results indicate that lower purpose in life for bereaved parents in this sample is related to less time since the death, loss by suicide, loss of an only child, and loss of more than one child. The descriptive data also indicates that a crisis of meaning may follow the death of a child. Implications for resolution are discussed.