Grieving the Loss of a Child and the Use of Online Social Support: An Exploratory Survey Study.

Purpose: To describe social media online grief supports, accessing behaviors, psychosocial variables, and feelings of support among individuals grieving the loss of a child aged <18 years.

Method: This online survey study recruited 26 adults grieving the loss of a child using social media. Dependent variables included feelings of support and frequency of access. Independent variables included sleep disturbance, cognitive function, depression, anxiety, and self-efficacy to manage emotions (SEMA). Data were collected from May to September 2018.

Results: Participants' T scores were higher in level of sleep disturbance (mean = 59.4, SD = 6.1), depression (mean = 62.1, SD = 6.1), and anxiety (mean = 62.8, SD = 7.9), and lower in cognitive function (mean = 37.4, SD = 7.3) and SEMA (mean = 39.3, SD = 5.7). SEMA showed a positive correlation with feeling emotionally supported (p = 0.034). Participants who were accessing online grief supports more frequently reported higher levels of emotional support (F = 9.31, p = 0.006).

Conclusion: Current findings will help guide the design of online grief support interventions for individuals grieving the loss of a child. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 62(8), 47-55.].