The meaning of presencing in parental bereavement

Presencing has been described as a phenomenon occurring in parental bereavement in which the parent maintains mental imagery of and interaction with the deceased child. The purpose of the research was to describe the meaning of presencing in parental bereavement. A triangulated, phenomenological, descriptive research design was utilized. Research questions were: (a) What is the meaning of presencing in the parental bereavement process?, (b) What is the role of presencing in parental bereavement?, and (c) How does the meaning of presencing alleviate suffering in the parental bereavement process? The Meaning in Suffering Test [MIST], developed by Starck (1983 ;1985b), was completed by the study participants to measure their perceptions of the meaning of their suffering in bereavement. A purposive sample of six individuals who were parents of deceased children were included in the study. Data analysis were achieved by thematic and descriptive statistical analyses. Presencing provided comfort, a sense of peace, faith, hope, and immortalized the deceased child. New meanings presencing provided in the lives of the parents were self-transcendence and increased consciousness of their own mortality. Findings of the research were parental bereavement was a unique, dynamic, complex, evolving, and ambiguous process; loss of a child was painful; spirituality assisted in finding meaning; and bereaved parents wanted peace, not closure in their grief. This research is significant to nursing in order to help improve the quality of life for bereave