Wilson A L, Fenton L J, Stevens D C, Soule D J
Pediatrics. 1982 Oct;70(4):587-91.
The emotional responses of eight families who lost a singleton newborn were compared with those of eight families who lost a twin. The mean gestational age of the babies in both groups was 31 weeks. At a mean time of 15 months following their loss, parents were sent a questionnaire which requested that they report their responses during the first six weeks following their baby's death and their present response to this experience. Embedded in the questionnaire was a 20-item depression symptom inventory. Analysis of variance indicated that although mothers experienced significantly more depressive symptoms than fathers (F = 59.48, P = .001) and that all symptoms had diminished greatly over time (F = 6.02, P = .032), there was no significant difference between the parents who had lost a twin and those who had lost a singleton. However, family, friends, and hospital staff frequently ignored or downplayed the death of the twin assuming that the grief of the parents would be minimal because of the surviving twin. Results of this study indicate that the presence of a living twin in no way lessens the grieving process and that a conscious effort needs to be made to allow parents to express openly their feelings of loss when a twin dies.
将失去单胎新生儿的八个家庭的情绪反应与失去双胞胎的八个家庭的情绪反应进行了比较。两组婴儿的平均胎龄均为31周。在失去孩子后的平均15个月时，向父母发送了一份问卷，要求他们报告孩子死亡后的前六周内的反应以及他们目前对这一经历的反应。问卷中包含一份20项的抑郁症状清单。方差分析表明，尽管母亲经历的抑郁症状明显多于父亲（F = 59.48，P = .001），且所有症状随时间推移都有显著减轻（F = 6.02，P = .032），但失去双胞胎的父母与失去单胎的父母之间没有显著差异。然而，家人、朋友和医院工作人员经常忽视或淡化双胞胎的死亡，认为由于有存活的双胞胎，父母的悲伤会最小化。这项研究的结果表明，存活的双胞胎的存在丝毫不会减轻悲伤过程，并且需要有意识地努力让父母在双胞胎死亡时能够公开表达他们的失落感。
