Psychological symptoms in widowed parents with minor children, 2–4 years after the loss of a partner to cancer

• DOI: 10.1002/pon.5658
• Publication Date: 2021-02-18T02:32:50Z
• Authors: Megan W. Falk; Charlotte Angelhoff; Anette Alvariza; Ulrika Kreicbergs; Josefin Sveen
• Keywords: Parents; prolonged grief; Nursing; Anxiety; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Neoplasms; Övrig annan medicin och hälsovetenskap; Psychology; Humans; anxiety; depression; posttraumatic stress; prolonged grief; psycho‐ oncology; rumination; Child; Cancer och onkologi; Psykologi; Depression; Omvårdnad; rumination; Widowhood; anxiety; posttraumatic stress; Other Medical Sciences not elsewhere specified; 3. Good health; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cancer and Oncology; depression; psycho-oncology; Female; Grief; Stress, Psychological

AbstractObjectivesThis study aimed to explore psychological symptoms in widowed parents with minor children, 2–4 years after the death of their partner. A second aim was to examine the associations between psychological symptoms and nonmodifiable and modifiable illness and healthcare‐related factors.MethodsA cross‐sectional survey study on widowed parents with minor children after the loss of a partner to cancer. In total, 42 parents completed an online questionnaire including instruments for assessing symptoms of anxiety, depression, grief rumination, prolonged grief, and posttraumatic stress. Descriptive statistics, Spearman's correlation coefficients, Mann–Whitney U tests and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to analyze differences in symptomology based on modifiable and nonmodifiable factors.ResultsParents reported moderate–severe symptoms of anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and depression. Reporting having received more information during the partner's illness regarding how the illness could affect the partner's somatic and psychological health and where to turn for support were associated with fewer psychological symptoms.ConclusionsA substantial proportion of widowed parents with minor children reported a moderate–severe symptom burden regarding depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress, and less so with prolonged grief symptoms. This study also highlighted the value of receiving information from healthcare personnel regarding the somatic and psychological effects of a partner's illness and where widowed parents can turn for support.