BEREAVED PARENTS AND SUPPORT GROUP PARTICIPATION

The study explored reasons why some bereaved parents participate in a self-help/support group while others do not. Data about forty-three su pport group participants and forty-two nonparticipants and their decea sed children were obtained through questionnaires and telephone interv iews. Over 76 percent of nonparticipants were found to have lost their child after a period of anticipatory grief while 80 percent of partic ipants lost their child suddenly or without adequate forewarning. Havi ng adequate support in their immediate environment was the reason stat ed by most for not joining a group. The majority of group participants mentioned that they needed a place to share grief with other bereaved parents even though their family and friends were supportive. It appe ars that bereaved parents are more likely to join a support group when they experience a particularly traumatic loss and do not find others who have suffered a similar loss in their usual social network.