Psychological stress of bereaved women and men in the course of perinatal child loss
Study director:
Prof. Dr. Anna-Lena Zietlow, Chair of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, TU Dresden; Dr. Judith Buse, Postdoc at Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, TU Dresden; PD Dr. Larissa Wolkenstein, Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment, LMU Munich
In cooperation with:
Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU)
Contact persons in Dresden:
Study director: Dr. Judith Buse: judith.buse@tu-dresden.de
Study coordination: B.Sc. Psych. Helena Schlendermann:
helena.schlendermann@mailbox.tu-dresden.de
Objectives:
The project aims to investigate the psychological distress experienced by bereaved women and men in the wake of peripartum child loss. The aim of the study is to evaluate possible risk factors, such as the type of child loss, and possible protective factors, such as relationship satisfaction and social support. Overall, the project aims to help improve preventative measures for those affected, as well as psychotherapeutic care and other support services, in order to provide the best possible care for people in such situations. As pregnancies can always have an impact on mental health and relationships, a control group of people who have had a living child within the last 5 years and have never experienced child loss will also be surveyed.
Background:
Previous studies have shown that child loss is associated with a variety of mental health problems. Parents affected by peripartal child loss have a significantly higher risk of developing symptoms of depression, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder compared to parents with live births (Westby et al., 2021). Despite these indications of the serious consequences of child loss, many questions in this context remain unanswered and the factors that predict the risk of deveoping mental disorders after the periparatl loss of a child are not yet fully understood. For example, to the best of our knowledge, the extent to which the type of child loss (miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth, neonatal death) influences the psychological distress of the parents has not yet been systematically investigated. Little is known on how such an experience of loss affects both the quality of the couple partnership and the parental relationship with existing and/or later-born siblings.
The aim of the project is to gain a deeper understanding of the situation of those affected, which may subsequently make it possible to answer some unresolved questions.
Study procedure:
This research project is being implemented by means of an online study in Redcap, which contains various questionnaires. These inquire into the stress experienced by men and women following the loss of a child through abortion, miscarriage, neonatal death or sudden infant/child death. PTSD, anxiety and depression symptoms, possible guilt attributions, changes in the quality of the relationship, possible changes in the participants' desire to have children, the use of professional help and possible trigger situations in dealing with children living in the household are surveyed. The online survey is anonymous and takes around 30-45 minutes to complete. People aged 18 and over who have either experienced a peripartum child loss within the last 5 years or who have had a living child within the last 5 years and have never experienced a peripartum child loss are eligible to take part.