Social support after the loss of an infant child: A long-term perspective

The article presents findings from a survey among 251 parents whose infant child had died. For most of the parents, the loss occurred several years ago. The survey assessed the amounts of instrumental, emotional and informational support received by these parents from various sources in connection with the death. The findings revealed that different sources provided different kinds of support. There was only one significant difference between bereaved males and females with regard to amount of support: females received more emotional support from their friends than males did. Furthermore, large amounts of support received by one spouse was associated with a similar level of support received by the other spouse. Social support in connection with the death was to some extent related to long-term psychological adaptation. Particularly support from neighbours and professionals was consistently associated with psychological adaptation. In general, however, the findings with regard to long-term effects of social support were ambiguous.