Dyadic Relationships between a Surviving Parent and Children in Widowed Families: A Systematic Scoping Review

Abstract

The death of a family member affects not only individual family members but also their relationships and interactions. Grief has been studied mostly as an intrapersonal experience. Adopting the family perspective, this systematic scoping review focused on parent–child relationships in widowed families so as to identify what is already known on this topic and the research gaps for future study. The review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Four databases (Web of Science, Psycinfo, PubMed, and CINAHL Plus) were searched. Search terms were combinations of two concepts: (1) loss of a parent (20 terms) and (2) parent–child (eight terms). 5,419 studies were identified during the search, of which 36 studies were included in the review following two rounds of screening. Four research themes emerged, and the aggregated findings were identified: (a) The surviving parent and children are likely to become closer following the loss of a parent, while other relevant factors need to be taken into account; (b) Better parent–child relationships play a protective role in children’s adjustment to loss; (c) The surviving parent and children’s adjustment to loss are interdependent; (d) Through parenting, communication style, coping strategy, and other attributes, the surviving parent can influence their children’s adjustment. Gender and age differences were identified in parent–child relationships. The findings further justify the importance of a family perspective when conducting research and practice on bereavement. Several research gaps were identified. Existing studies paid insufficient attention to children’s agency and bidirectional relationships, and the interaction process and its role underlying parent–child bidirectional causality. A conceptual framework of parent–child relationships in widowed families is proposed based on these findings.