1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«[W]e have not been able to understand which elements contribute to ease or intensify the damaging consequences following the death of a fetus or infant. Critical for health professionals caring for the bereaved is the persistent question of why some family systems endure and sometimes even thrive when faced with normative transitions or situational stressors like the death of a baby, while other families deteriorate and disintegrate. In this chapter we explore this question.» (p. 300)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«This first longitudinal study to support an exploratory model of health, including the importance of hardiness as a predictor of health and well-being, involved 110 bereaved couples [...] who lost their baby during pregnancy or the first year of life. [T]he socioeconomic status was comparable to other bereavement studies. Mothers’ ages ranged from 19 to 43 with a mean of 31.5 (SD [écart type] = 4:8), while fathers’ ages ranged from 20 to 47 with a mean of 33.7 (SD = 5:4). Couples had been married or living together from less than 1 to 23 years (M = 6:4 year, SD = 4:3). […] Conducted in Montreal, Quebec, slightly less than half of the participating couples were French Canadian, 10% were English Canadians, while nearly one-third were ’other’ Canadians». (p. 304-305)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«In this chapter we explored hardiness as a key resource and precursor to coping that can help families endure and even thrive following the death of a fetus or infant. [...] The concept of hardiness is closely related to more recent definitions of resiliency that go beyond the notion of bouncing back to status quo. Instead, in response to life stressors, hardy individuals can achieve a higher level of health and well-being, the ability to transcend, and engage in self-actualization (Lang et al., 2001). As a personal resource, hardiness is characterized by a sense of control, an active orientation, and the ability to make sense of one’s own existence. [...] In the context of perinatal loss, evidence was presented in this chapter demonstrating that hardiness as a personal resource can diminish the negative effects of this traumatic life event.» (p. 314) Ce chapitre explore aussi le soutien social et marital face à la mort périnatale, ainsi que la satisfaction conjugale et le fonctionnement de la famille suite à cet évènement.