BACKGROUND: Young adults represent a minority in research; they are often considered too young or too old for participation. There is sparse information, especially in bereavement research, regarding how this age group perceives research participation and what they consider beneficial or harmful.

AIM: To explore how parentally bereaved and nonbereaved young adults perceive research participation.

DESIGN: Qualitative analysis of free-text comments collected in a Swedish nation-wide survey.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Parentally cancer-bereaved and nonbereaved young adults between 18 and 25 years old living in Sweden.

RESULTS: Five categories were identified from the free-text comments, three among the cancer-bereaved: (1) therapeutic to remember the deceased, (2) valuable to help others and improve care, and (3) short-term distressful-long-term beneficial, and two among the nonbereaved: (1) increased reflection and awareness about life, and (2) an opportunity to help others.

CONCLUSIONS: It is important to invite young adults to participate in bereavement research. The results suggest that potential harm is minimal and that participating in bereavement research can have a beneficial effect on young adults.