Els menors d’edat no poden anar al tanatoriUn estudi sobre el dol infantil i adolescent

Abstract

How do children experience the death of a family member? Trying to answer this question, in 2016 we conducted an investigation on grief amongst children and teenagers. The purpose was to investigate the experiences of children and teenagers around the death of a loved one within the family and social context. According to our findings, death is experienced as a taboo and families and society tend to separate children and adolescents from this social and biological phenomenon. Our research was a pioneering qualitative study analysing the feelings and experiences of children and adolescents about grief from a social, psychoaffective and rights perspective. The results of the study suggest that the way each family manages communication and emotions determines the quantity and quality of the dialogues between adults and children and adolescents about death, the emotional support children and adolescents receive from adults in expressing their emotions, and their level of participation in saying goodbye to the deceased relative. In fact, the less the communication and emotional management, the less the participation in farewell and / or remembrance acts. Furthermore, in households where there is greater communication, there is also greater emotional management and participation in funeral rituals. Hence, we conclude that childhood and adolescent grief is determined both by the social taboo surrounding death, and by the communicative and emotional management of the family