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Purpose: The death of a child can elicit enduring and intense parental grief. Additionally, as parents are both confronted with the loss of their child, interpersonal processes come into play. This study aimed to examine the change in reported levels of grief among bereaved parents individually and at a couple-level. The authors examined the differences in grief trajectories between mothers and fathers and whether the reported level of grief of one partner predicts the other partner’s reported level of grief.

Design/methodology/approach: Our longitudinal study included 229 bereaved couples who completed the Inventory of Complicated Grief at 6, 13, and 20 months post-loss.

Findings: A latent growth curve analysis showed that parents reported consistently high average grief levels, mothers reported higher grief levels than fathers, and all parents reported a similar small decline in grief. A cross-lagged panel analysis showed that the grief of one parent affected the grief of the other parent with similar strength. Our results held regardless of the child’s gender and age, but an expected loss was associated with a lower grief level 6 months post-loss and a smaller decline in reported levels of grief.

Originality/value: These findings highlight bereaved parents as a particularly vulnerable population, increase our understanding of change in parental grief over time and of the interdependence of grieving in bereaved couples.

Bereaved parents often face the complex situation of managing their own grief while parenting bereaved children who are at increased risk of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The current evaluation was a pilot study aimed at determining the feasibility of the Incredible Years (IY) BASIC parenting programme as an intervention for bereaved families.

A total of seven parents of children (aged four to 12) participated in a 12‐week IY BASIC parenting programme. Participants completed a range of pre‐intervention, post‐intervention, six month follow‐up measures and semi‐structured interviews.

The results showed statistically significant reductions in parental stress, parental wellbeing, child behaviour problems, and grief.

There is strong evidence for the effectiveness of IY with diverse parenting populations but this is the first known study of the programme with bereaved families. The findings support its use with such families where child behaviour is a concern.

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of existing literature on post-traumatic growth (PTG), particularly in the ways that it relates to grief.

This narrative literature review brings together 125 sources and presents them in a readable way.

There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that PTG can come from grief. This is not always the case, however.

This review presents only a selection of the existing literature – the review is not systematic. However, this allows for a narrative to be crafted, to aid readability.

Suggestions for future research are made throughout, and potential therapeutic applications are mentioned.

This paper discusses stigma, in the form of “disenfranchised grief”. In this, social pressures and expectations affect how a person processes their grief psychologically. While movements to increase discourse and reduce stigma are on the rise, more is needed.

This review guides readers through existing literature, providing a wide overview of the topic of PTG in grief.