Impact of Parental Bereavement on Social Connection, Isolation, and Health

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The pain of loss figures prominently for millions of Americans, and while the emotional toll of bereavement is well-recognized, resulting disruptions to social connection often go unnoticed and unaddressed. The proposed study examines ruptures to social connection following what is widely acknowledged as the most devastating

form of loss: the death of a child. Bereaved parents face increased risk for numerous adverse health outcomes including cardiovascular disease, dementia, and early mortality. One likely contributor to these outcomes is social isolation. For many parents, their child’s death precipitates long-term estrangements. Friends and family

often do not know what to say or do and may avoid contact. Drained by the need to constantly “put on a brave face,” parents may self-isolate, and even close relationships may deteriorate or collapse. Social isolation itself is a well-established risk factor for physical and mental illness, and its adverse outcomes mirror those of

parental grief. Healthcare systems are in a unique position to address bereavement-induced social isolation due to their many touchpoints with families. That said, direct clinical care for every bereaved parent is neither possible due to finite resources, nor called for depending on individuals’ risk levels and preferences. Both the

public health model and the transitional model of bereavement care call for the majority of bereaved individuals to be supported over the long term by their surrounding communities. However, bereaved parents often face breakdowns in social relationships at the very time that they need these informal supports most. It is therefore

critical that healthcare systems have interventions and resources to help bereaved parents build and maintain community-based social support. As a basis for these interventions, research identifying specific intervention targets is sorely needed. While qualitative studies have described the numerous social challenges faced by

bereaved parents, existing research stops short of quantifying changes in specific social network characteristics and their impacts on perceived isolation (i.e., loneliness), or offering adaptive strategies to help maintain social connection. The proposed mixed methods study seeks to fill this gap by 1) quantifying changes

in social network characteristics (negative interactions, social integration, emotional support, shared sense of purpose, network size, network composition); 2) determining associations among network characteristics, perceived isolation, and health; and 3) identifying adaptive strategies that help maintain social connections. We

will conduct a quantitative survey of approximately 300 bereaved parents assessing network characteristics, perceived isolation, and health, and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a subset of ~45 parents to identify strategies that help maintain social connection. The long-term goal of this research is to develop a

multimodal intervention that can be implemented by healthcare systems to help mitigate bereavement-induced social isolation. The proposed study has the potential to reduce isolation and adverse health outcomes among the millions of bereaved parents in the U.S., and potentially can be expanded to other bereaved populations.