Abstract

This study explored how parent's religious coping styles influence their child's behavioral reactions following spousal bereavement. Fifteen participants were recruited from churches, bereavement groups, hospices, palliative care programs and from victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Individuals who lost a spouse within the past 3 years and who had a child between the ages of 7 and 14 years participated. Parents described the religious coping strategies they employed after the loss of their spouse on Pargament's Brief Religious Coping Scale as well as the symptoms of their child on the Child Behavior Checklist. Pearson correlations demonstrated a significant negative relationship between positive religious coping and externalization of symptoms, as well as a significant positive relationship between negative religious coping and externalization of symptoms. Finally, though the sample is small, a number of additional patterns emerged revealing that several death context variables had an impact on child adjustment.

LLU Discipline

Psychology

Department

Psychology

School

Graduate School

First Advisor

Kelly R. Morton

Second Advisor

Kiti Freier

Third Advisor

Louis E. Jenkins

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Degree Level

Psych.D.

Year Degree Awarded

2004

Date (Title Page)

6-2004

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Quality of life -- Religious aspects; Parents -- Death -- Psychological aspects; Bereavement in children; Grief in children; Children -- Death -- Religious aspects.

Type

Doctoral Project

Page Count

viii; 68

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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