The study of psychosocial outcomes of parents bereaved by pediatric illness: a scoping review of methodology and sample composition.

This article presents a scoping review of 106 peer-reviewed studies published between 2011 and 2022 that examine psychosocial outcomes among parents bereaved by the death of a child (aged 0–25) due to medical conditions. The review highlights that most research employs qualitative methods, primarily involving mothers of children who died from cancer, with a predominance of White participants and limited representation of diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. Psychosocial outcomes assessed focus largely on risk factors such as grief and negative emotions, while resilience-related outcomes like posttraumatic growth and benefit-finding are less frequently studied, especially through quantitative approaches. The review identifies a need for more diverse, methodologically rigorous research—including quantitative, mixed-methods, and intervention studies—that incorporates inclusive samples and evaluates both risk and protective factors to better inform evidence-based psychosocial services for bereaved parents.