“We are brothers in arms”

The death of a child is recognized as one of the most difficult traumatic events in the context of human relations, affecting parents individually and as a couple, and testing both their individual and dyadic resources. Because of its complexity, mourning the death of a child has several specificities, involving both individual and relational adjustments, as well as various influencing processes.

The aim of this research project is to obtain a multidimensional view of parental grief process, by characterizing the impact of the death of a child in individual and relational adaptation, and to identify the determinants (individual and shared) in the grief response and adaptation of these parents. In addition, this project aims to identify the mechanisms that facilitate (un)healthy adjustment. The study design is cross-sectional and uses a mixed methodology, involving both quantitative and qualitative research. This project will allow not only a more comprehensive understanding of the context of parental adaptation after the death of a child, as it may allow the identification of risk and protection factors. Finally, it is expected that this study can contribute to the definition of intervention components and strategies, important for an optimized clinical approach to these parents.