Children's grief maps: Capturing children's grief and sorrow in family and close relationships

To better understand sensitive situations in children's lives, it is important to engage them in research. This article reports the initial findings of a study on children's grief. Grief map data were collected during interviews with 8- to 9-year-old children (N = 22). The aim was to explore children's perceptions of the family and close relationships that help them in moments of grief, and the relationships related to the cause of these emotions. The grief maps were analysed using content and thematic analyses. The results of the study demonstrate the deeply relational nature of children's grief.