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Family Responses to the Death of a Child: The Meaning of Memories

Pediatric palliative care professionals often encounter questions from parents about how to handle the belongings of their deceased child. This study describes what 34 families did with their child's clothes, room, and mementos after a death from cancer. Further, the study presents a theoretic scheme deriving from a conceptual analysis of the interview data. This theoretic scheme hypothesizes that the deceased child's belongings may serve as memories with meanings, that these meanings may vary among family members, and that discrepant meanings may influence bereavement outcome within the family and its individual members. Areas requiring further research are identified, and implications of the findings for clinical practice are discussed.