Death of Healthy (vs. Sick) Child Followed by More Grief

Synonyms

Bereavement following a child’s death

Definition

Parental grief – the suite of emotional and behavioral responses, including deep sorrow, that follows from a child’s death.

Introduction

The death of one’s children is perhaps one of the most painful experiences humans endure. Although incredibly painful, this experience can still be examined through the lens of evolution. Why did humans evolve to experience such profound distress at the loss of a child? All else equal, would not the parents who recovered seamlessly from their child’s death outcompete their suffering counterparts for resources and social partners? Do bereaved parents experience equal levels of grief, or does the intensity of the grief response follow theoretically consistent patterns?

Grief Tracks Inclusive Fitness and Propagation Potential

At first glance, the emotional pain following the death of one’s child appears to follow logically from such a substantial loss to inclusive fitness. Children, who share...