Making sense out of a senseless death: Death experiences of parents who lost a son to hazing

• Main Authors: Mariano, Mary Grace M., Resurreccion, Ron R., Sabbun, Sheryll B.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1999
• Subjects: Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_honors/124
• Institution: De La Salle University

The study aims to describe the death experiences of parents who lost a son from hazing. In order to describe the death experiences, the bereavement responses, attributions of the death, and the meanings that the parents derived from the death must be determined. This was made possible through an in-depth interview. The demographics and family enmeshment were also obtained through the Family Cohesion Scale. There were three couples and two fathers who participated in this study. The data gathered were analyzed qualitatively through case analysis and cross case analysis. The results showed that there are five major themes (with 21 subthemes) for bereavement, two (with 14 subthemes) for attributions, and two (with 11 subthemes) for meanings. The common bereavement among parents experiences were pain, hysterical reactions, denial, shock, questioning the manner of death and regret. The common attribution of parents was the perpetrators. In the construal of meanings, common were greater benefit, inability to live with loss, senseless and learning. Though there exists a complementary relationship among bereavement, attribution and meanings of parents, central to this relationship is the construal of meanings since the death was perceived as senseless.