Grieving among Adolescent Survivors of Childhood Cancer: A Situational Analysis

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how adolescent survivors of childhood cancer grieve the death of cancer peers. METHODS: Data were obtained from Korean adolescents with cancer between the ages of 13 and 18 (N=12) through semi-structured interviews (face-to-face, telephone, and Internet chatting), observations of the social dynamics of participants in self-help groups, and retrieval of personal Web journals. Based on the grounded theory methodology, data collection and analysis were conducted simultaneously, and constant comparative methods were used. Clarke's situational analysis was adopted, and this paper focused on presenting "how to" and "what we can learn" from this analytic strategy. RESULTS: Mapping examples were visualized using of three modes of maps. Adolescent cancer survivors coped with reminders of the "darkness" that ultimately featured their overall grief. Additionally, adolescents' encounters and avoidance of grief were triggered by introspection and interactions with family and friends. CONCLUSION: Situational analysis provided an efficient way to analyze the experiences of adolescent survivors of childhood cancer by systematizing possible information within the relational social contexts of the research phenomenon.