Author(s): Adrian Hardisty, Lauren Robertson
Mentor(s): Jordan Robertson, Elizabeth Cutrer-Parraga
Institution BYU
Bereavement is painful at any time of life. For young children experiencing bereavement, grandmothers are often the first line of defense. Grandmothers are frequently called upon when their family members experience an out-of-order death, and while they are willing to provide care, grandmothers don't always know the best way forward. This qualitative study sought to learn more about the grief experiences of 22 grandmothers who had lost a family member prematurely through semi-structured interviews and Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Findings suggest (a) grandmothers experience layered grief in that they grieve the loss of the family member, experience the pain of the surviving family members, and their own pain; (b) grandmothers experience invisible grief as their feelings are not often revealed to or recognized by their family members; (c) grandmothers experience confusion in knowing how to help and attend to their family members who are bereaved. These difficulties seem related to the family relationships, the connection to the person who died (their own child or an in-law child or grandchild), what they are grieving, and their ability to develop new roles and relationships during the bereavement period. Findings also suggest that grandmothers engaged in both loss- and restoration-oriented activities but did so most often alone. This research yields helpful implications in working with bereaved grandmothers. While societally we tend to focus exclusively on the nuclear family, grandparents are equally affected by death of family members and so is important for those working with grandmothers- both family members and medical professionals- to acknowledge the grief of grandparents, especially grandmothers, after the death of a younger family member.