The Effects of Parent\u27s Religious Coping on Children\u27s Functioning after Loss

This study explored how parent\u27s religious coping styles influence their child\u27s behavioral reactions following spousal bereavement. Fifteen participants were recruited from churches, bereavement groups, hospices, palliative care programs and from victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Individuals who lost a spouse within the past 3 years and who had a child between the ages of 7 and 14 years participated. Parents described the religious coping strategies they employed after the loss of their spouse on Pargament\u27s Brief Religious Coping Scale as well as the symptoms of their child on the Child Behavior Checklist. Pearson correlations demonstrated a significant negative relationship between positive religious coping and externalization of symptoms, as well as a significant positive relationship between negative religious coping and externalization of symptoms. Finally, though the sample is small, a number of additional patterns emerged revealing that several death context variables had an impact on child adjustment