Long-term follow-up of parental adjustment following a child's death at home or hospital

Abstract

The adjustment of parents whose children had died from cancer 6 to 8 years earlier was assessed using structured interviews and standardized inventories. Forty parents had participated in a home hospice program during the terminal phase of their child's illness whereas 22 were parents of children who died in the hospital. Home care parents reported significantly stronger relationships with spouse and remaining children, firmer religious convictions, more adequate coping abilities, and less residual guilt than non-home care parents. On the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), non-home care parents exhibited more frequent indications of maladjustment including somatization, depression, and interpersonal problems. The results confirm that the more optimal adjustment of home care parents which was first reported 5 years earlier has been maintained. Support and expansion of pediatric home hospice programs are strongly encouraged in light of the positive results of our longitudinal studies.