The overall goal of the proposed cross-sectional study is to obtain information necessary to the development of an effective Meaning-Centered Grief Intervention for parents who lost a child to cancer. In order to identify a subset of parents with whom we will conduct qualitative interviews with a subset of participants to address Aims 1 and 2, we will first screen participants to determine their levels of Prolonged Grief Disorder symptoms using a quantitative assessment (PG-13). The screening measure (PG-13) and the additional questionnaires included in the quantitative battery of measures will be analyzed to achieve Aim 3.

Prior to the interview, the measure of prolonged grief disorder symptoms, the PG-13, will be re-administered to participants as a quality assurance check. We will administer 7 self-report measures, which participants can complete in our office, at home, or via telephone, depending on their preferences. These questionnaires should take approximately 75 to 80 minutes to complete. If you are asked to take part in the in-depth interview and you choose to take part, the interview that will take approximately 60 to 90 minutes to complete, depending on the length of the responses to the questions asked.

The participant may also be asked if they would be willing to fill out an additional questionnaire about parents' thoughts on the most appropriate timing for raising the topic of a postmortem examination and factors that are important to include in discussions. Despite its importance, autopsy is often not discussed with parents whose child is dying from cancer.