Counterfeit Only Child
The Reasons for Masking a Sibling’s Death
Topic:
I am working on the topic of how people socially and mentally deal with the death of a sibling because I want to find out why people choose to mask this element in order to help my reader understand the lifelong difficulties that accompany such a tragedy.
Description of Research Topic:
A loss in the immediate family is devastating to all members. As an individual who has gone through firsthand experience, I understand the social and mental difficulties that go along with this heartbreak. Over the years I have dealt with many anxieties in which I have had to attend counseling. I have a constant feeling of loss in the back of my mind. My attempt to mask this vulnerability is covered by my counterfeit argument of being an only child.
On a daily basis, I witness people interacting or talking about their own siblings. I simply observe and think about how truly lucky they are to enjoy that kind of support in this stressful and often hectic life. Many times, I hear of people who no longer speak to their sibling’s, usually because of money matters or a materialistic issue. If only these people understood the feeling of such immediate loss, possibly they would not take for granted this blessing.
My objective with this research paper is not only to help those dealing with loss cope but also to help those who do not fully appreciate their opportunity to have such a relationship. A life is far more enriched when shared with family. I have experienced a loss and gained, not only two parents who I love dearly, but two best friends. From this tragedy I have learned to cherish my remaining immediately family (regardless of what a pain that can be at times).
I hope that through using qualitative and quantitative information I can open up my reader’s eyes to the big picture. Statistics will be beneficial in this research paper; they will allow me to show the rarity of such a loss in the 21st century. When something becomes rare, it becomes extremely uneasy to deal with, therefore when this tragedy happens it hits hard. Through qualitative information I will be able to provide a story. I do not plan to only use myself as an example, although this loss has become more uncommon, it still occurs. Understand the social and mental repercussions is an important part of understanding the loss itself.
Context Description:
My topic could be extremely broad but in order to narrow it down I have chosen to focus mainly on learning how people cope with this tragedy in a social sense. I am going to approach my research with several questions. I will begin with quantitative information.
I have three main focus points for this section. How have mortality rates changed over time? I found a great text by Peter Congdon, “A Model Framework for Mortality and Health Data Classified by Age, Area, and Time”. This journal provides an extreme amount of statistics. Congdon takes into consideration every aspect listed in his title. His research is extensive and difficult to understand yet will be valuable to the final product.
Another source that I have chosen to use is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This site provides key information that will support why loss in the 21st century is so devastating. In present day life expectancy is 77.9 years of age and the death rate is 803.6 deaths per 100,000 population (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). These numbers have improved greatly and will be helpful to my research project. This is only an example as to what statistics I will use for this topic.
Another aspect that I will focus on is the amount of children that parents are having in present day compared to past years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also provides a great deal of information on this subject. In current times, people have far less children than they did throughout history; therefore when we lose a child today, it has even more impact.
“The Long Term Relational Consequences of Problematic Family Backgrounds”, by Robert H. Lauer and Jeanette C. Lauer, focuses on the “conflicts or other problems” that arise from death or divorce (Lauer H, Lauer C 1). This article will be a tremendous help in pinpointing the repercussions of such tragedies.
There are many articles that have been written about this subject; however, I would like to keep my research project narrowed down and focus only on these types of statistics. The rest of my research will be more qualitative.
Citations:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/>.
Congdon, Peter. A Model Framework for Mortality and Health Data Classified by Age, Area, and Time. 1st ed. Vol. 62. International Biometric Society, 2006. 269-78. Print.
Lauer, Robert H., and Jeanette C. Lauer. The Long Term Relational Consequences of Problematic Family Backgrounds. 3rd ed. Vol. 40. National Council on Family Relations, 1991. Print.
