Death of a Parent in Childhood and Resilience in Adulthood

This study explored resilience in adults who have experienced the loss of a parent during childhood. The specific objectives were to explore: (a) How individual characteristics influence resilience after the death of a parent, (b) how an individual's family conditions influence resilience, (c) how external influences impact resilience after the death of a parent, and (d) how participants perceive the death of a parent as a part of resilience in adulthood. This study was restricted to adult women and men whose parent died when the participant was between the ages of 3 and 12 years. Using a phenomenological approach, in-depth interviews were utilized to gather data. A total of 19 women and men were interviewed. Based on the information extracted from the four research questions, seven emergent themes were identified: disposition of the child, parental influence on self-concept, influence of death on family dynamics, understanding and coping with loss, social support, impact of loss on adult relationships, and increased independence at an early age.