Journal of Psychiatry

Soldiering on: A qualitative study of bereavement among Israeli parents who lost their children in military service

Annual Congress on Mental Health

July 09-11, 2018 | Paris, France

Miriam Schiff

Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Psychiatry

Abstract:

The Western world has seen significant development in the study of grief and bereavement, with particular attention to the potential differences between a parent�??s grief over a child and bereavement for other relatives. Whereas in the past it was accepted to think that bereaved parents must learn to �??let go�?� of their deceased child, today we understand that parents may learn how to continue the connection with their child as they accept their loss. This study, based on the Two-Track Model (Rubin, 1981) and Dual Process Model (DPM) of bereavement (Stroebe & Schut, 2010), addressed the bereavement process of parents who lost a child during military service in Israel. Research questions included the meaning of life with bereavement, what hinders the coping process? How significant is the length of time passed to coping with grief? The study included 18 bereaved parents (12 mothers and 6 fathers, 46 to 76 years aged) in the Jerusalem area, who lost a child 3�??15 years before the study during his military service. The parents participated in three groups. Transcripts were analyzed with the thematic networks technique. Results revealed a global theme of ambivalence which could be found in every one of the themes. Findings of this study also indicate that making a personal decision to carry on in life is a central tenet for coping with loss. The decision is a product of intra-personal process and cannot be initiated by an external source. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Biography :

Miriam Schiff has completed her PhD and is Associate Professor and Zena Harman Chair in Social Work at Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. She is a Social Worker, a Licensed School Psychologist and Family Therapist. Her research interests are in the moderators and mediator factors explaining the associations between man-made trauma and substance usage among children and adolescents, grief and bereavement translational research from academic research to the field of social work and from practice wisdom to theories and research in the areas of social works in health and mental health.

E-mail: miriam.schiff5@gmail.com