Double bereavement, mental health consequences and support needs of children and young adults: When a divorced parent dies

Aims and objectives: To explore how children and young adults from divorced familiesexperience double bereavement when they lose a divorced parent with cancer andhow the double bereavement influences their mental health consequences and needof support.Background: Children and young people who are confronted with the cancer and deathof a parent is a highly stressful life event, which is associated with an increased risk ofmental health problems, especially when children experience divorced parental cancerand death.Design: Participant observations and interviews with a phenomenological-hermeneuticapproach and COREQ standards for reporting qualitative research.Methods: We conducted 340 hr of participant observations within nine differentsupport groups totalling 27 children and young adults from divorced familiesand included 28 interviews with participants and relatives. Analyses are based onRicoeur's theory of interpretation: naïve reading, structural analysis, interpretationand discussion.Results: The experiences with double bereavement identified three main themes: 1.navigating through multiple transitions and disruptions within two family worlds; 2.consequences for mental health including stress overload and disruptions to wellbeing;and 3. need for accessible support derived from close relationships and professionalswithin and in-between family worlds.Conclusion: Children and young adult's double bereavement includes multiple transitionsand disruptions often related to stress overload and mental health problems.Support from close relationships and professionals is experienced as helpful in theprevention and mitigation of mental health problems.Relevance to clinical practice: There is a need for targeted accessible support availabilityto children, young adults and their families when a divorced parent is dying ofcancer in clinical practice. Our findings suggest that specific health policies for healthprofessionals should be developed to target improved support for these families.