Making family after the death of a child : a sociology of bereavement ; Faire famille après le décès d'un.e enfant. Une sociologie du deuil

This thesis examines how members of a bereaved family continue to form a family in the context of the death of a child. The framework chosen is that of families who have lost a child aged between 12 and 25 years. This study is based on qualitative material, i.e. 40 interviews with parents and siblings who have lost a child or a sibling aged between 12 and 25. Based on this material, the aim is to question the tools and concepts that sociology possesses today to carry out an analysis of bereavement within the family. By focusing on individual and family trajectories as well as the turning points induced by bereavement, this thesis shows that, far from being an individual and psychological task, grieving a child constitutes above all a status that affects parenthood over time. This thesis begins with an exploration of the links between the sociology of bereavement and the contemporary sociology of family. By defining the family as an emotional configuration and by placing the roles of parents and siblings at the centre of the analysis, this doctoral work shows how emotions circulate within the family, making it possible to be a family despite an absent member. The transformation of parental roles is questioned, and in particular the way in which bereaved parents are now part of a liminal form of parenthood. Through the elaboration of the notion of the emotional labour of grief, this thesis highlights the inequalities between fatherhood and motherhood in situations of bereavement, particularly in relation to the place within the professional sphere. By following the family through its material components, this work shows how material elements anchor absence within a shared daily life. Finally, a long-term analysis of bereavement leads us to question the future of bereaved siblings, but also the transformation of the family, for example through the arrival of grandchildren. ; Ce travail de thèse porte sur la manière dont les membres d’une famille endeuillée continuent de faire famille dans le contexte du décès ...