Fact Checking the Media
Grief and loss are common subjects in the news. As advocates in this field, it is important that we are aware of what’s communicated in the media. We should all review what we see and read with a critical eye, and correct misstatements or misperceptions when discovered. Here is one example of a recent situation that came to our attention. We thank Donna Schuurman, NAGC Board Member and Executive Director of The Dougy Center (Portland, OR) for taking action in this particular case.
On June 2, 2010 The Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “Families with a Missing Piece: A New Look at How a Parent’s Early Death Can Reverberate Decades Later,” by Jeffrey Zaslow.
An excerpt states, “Support groups, which grieving adults often find helpful, seem less beneficial to bereaved children, says Holly Wilcox, a psychiatric epidemiologist who led the Hopkins study.”
The “Hopkins study” referred to was a retrospective cohort study examining population-based data from Swedish national registers. It analyzed the risk for suicide, psychiatric hospitalization, and violent criminal convictions among offspring of parents who died from suicide, accidents, and other causes. Here is an abstract of the article entitled: Psychiatric Morbidity, Violent Crime, and Suicide Among Children and Adolescents Exposed to Parental Death from the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (May 2010).
In looking over the study, there did not appear to be any basis for the statement attributed to Wilcox, so Donna sent her an email which said (excerpt):
“Dear Holly,
I read with interest yesterday’s Wall Street Journal article, ‘Families with a Missing Piece,’ and was struck by your comment, or a comment that was attributed to you, that ‘support groups, which grieving adults often find helpful, seem less beneficial to bereaved children.’ I am deeply interested in whatever research you’ve conducted, or that you’ve found, which would support this assertion. I’m aware that, as with all research, different studies have resulted in differing hypotheses regarding the efficacy of grief support groups for adults, as well as grief therapy for adults, but the solid research on children and support groups is slim.”
This is the response received from Holly Wilcox on June 3, 2010:
“Dear Donna,
Thank you for your email. I was surprised when I saw the article because I thought I had said there is not much research evidence on the efficacy of support groups for child survivors of parental suicide, but what is written is very different. There is no opportunity to proof the article in advance of publication. I'm not quite sure what to do about this.”
Donna suggested that Wilcox write a letter to the Editor, which she did, and which states:
“Dear Editor,
Thank you so much for the article “Families with a Missing Piece” that appeared June 2. We need to pay much more attention to the psychological needs of children that lose their parents early in life. I would like to clarify, however, an assertion attributed to me in the article that said bereavement support groups ‘seem less beneficial to bereaved children.’ I said there was not a large evidence base that demonstrates the value of support groups for children who lose a parent to suicide. This is an important distinction because support groups can be extremely valuable for these grieving children. We just need to do more research on support groups for children. As stated in the article, we need to do more to take care of these children for many years after losing a parent and more research will show what works.
Warm regards,
Holly C. Wilcox, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins Children’s Center
Baltimore, MD.”
At this time, we do not believe that Dr. Wilcox’s letter was published.
At the National Alliance for Grieving Children, we want to bring to your attention important issues and resources in the area of child bereavement. Visit our website to comment on this issue.
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