“I don’t know if fear of flying is a diagnosis, but…”: A longitudinal interview study with bereaved parents

What are the relations between the individual’s phenomenological experiences of grief, and cultural meanings and expectations related to grief? How do people in grief draw upon socio-cultural frames and resources to interpret their own grief experiences, and how do discourses of grief as e.g. a potential health hazard influence bereaved persons’ self-interpretations and practices? These are some of the questions that will be addressed in a longitudinal interview study following seven bereaved couples after the loss of an infant child. Some of the methodological and ethical issues I would like to address and discuss are: What part do emotions play in the relational co-construction of interview knowledge on vulnerable subjects? (How) is it possible to address the relational and culturally embedded aspects of grief through conversations with individuals and/or couples? Can a phenomenological approach avoid an individualization of the individual experiences?