Resilience and bereaved children: helping a child to develop a resilient mind-set following the death of a parent 1

Transcription

1 University Press Scholarship Online You are looking at 1-10 of 14 items for: keywords : bereaved children Resilience and bereaved children: helping a child to develop a resilient mind-set following the death of a parent 1 Julie Stokes in Resilience in Palliative Care: Achievement in adversity Published in print: 2007 Published Online: ISBN: eisbn: acprof:oso/ This chapter examines a variety of factors that can help a bereaved child to develop a resilient mind-set. These interrelated factors come from within the individual child, their parents, and their community. This chapter discusses resilience in relation to children with a focus on the cognitive processes involved in building a resilient mind-set and identifies the spectrum of risk factors that can complicate a child's response to a parental death. Childhood bereavement: the context and need for services Alison Penny in Brief Interventions with Bereaved Children Published in print: 2009 Published Online: ISBN: eisbn: acprof:oso/ It is said that the death of a loved one or a close acquaintance can have a rather profound effect and serve as a challenging experience for a young person. As such, there have been a number of services set up over the last twenty years that provide support to bereaved children and their families. This chapter discusses the philosophy behind the development of childhood bereavement services, as well as the specific policy context in England and the current provision. Page 1 of 5

2 Working with traumatically bereaved children William Yule and Patrick Smith in Brief Interventions with Bereaved Children Published in print: 2009 Published Online: ISBN: eisbn: acprof:oso/ Losing a sibling or even a parent can have a rather profound effect on a child. However, there are some deaths that can easily induce trauma in a child, specifically sudden and unexpected deaths. Two examples of such deaths are accidental deaths and murders, particularly where the child witnesses the accident or the murder. This chapter discusses what it is like to work with traumatically bereaved children and looks at the concept of traumatic stress reactions. Childhood Bereavement Studies acprof:oso/ This chapter summarizes studies that underscore the support children feel when they are informed, and are an integral part of a family that does not withhold important information from them. Four relevant areas are reviewed: (1) the evolving models proposed to explain the complexity of how children cope with bereavement; (2) the relevance of models of traumatic stress to childhood bereavement; (3) the retrospective and prospective studies of adult and child bereavement; and (4) the relationship between divorce, traumatic death, and anticipated death. These perspectives help us to understand the variations in the findings from different studies and to clarify the significance of this research. Children 3 5 Years of Age: Themes acprof:oso/ Page 2 of 5

3 This chapter describes the impact of terminal cancer on the lives of 18 children 11 girls and 7 boys aged 3 to 5 years. They came from 18 families, and their surviving parents were 15 mothers and 3 fathers. Recommendations for professionals and caregivers are provided. Healing Children's Grief: Surviving a Parent's Death from Cancer Grace H. Christ Item type: book acprof:oso/ In this book, the author relates the stories of 88 families and their 157 children (ages 3 to 17) who participated in a parent-guidance intervention through the terminal illness and death of one of the parents from cancer. The majority of the children successfully reconstituted their lives during the subsequent 8-14 months. Although recent studies of bereaved children have yielded important findings, they have not provided knowledge of how children's development affects their responses either before the death, through the dying experience, or in the later period in which families try to adapt to the new circumstances. Using qualitative analytic methods, The Legacy identifies five developmentally derived age groups that clarify important differences in children's grief and mourning processes, in their understanding of events, their interactions with families, and their varying needs for help and support. The author gives numerous examples of the ways parents and extended family interacted with the children, and also the ways that professionals, friends, and many others helped families to deal with this tragedy. Conclusion acprof:oso/ This chapter summarizes salient findings presented throughout the book. This was done to provide an overview of the ways development shaped Page 3 of 5

4 the children's experiences and their more or less successful adaptation to this family tragedy. Children 6 8 Years of Age: Themes acprof:oso/ This chapter describes the impact of terminal cancer on the lives of 33 children 16 girls and 17 boys aged 6 to 8. They came from 30 families, and their surviving parents were 17 mothers and 13 fathers. The important themes that are germane to children in this age group are surveyed. Children 9 11 Years of Age: Themes acprof:oso/ This chapter describes the impact of terminal cancer on the lives of 37 children 19 girls and 18 boys aged 9 to 11. They came from 33 families, and their surviving parents were 20 fathers and 13 mothers. It summarizes the developmental attributes that were important in understanding these children. The summary is followed by descriptions of how the children coped with the family tragedy, how they and their families responded to the terminal illness, how the surviving parents prepared the children for the death and family rituals, and how parents helped them to cope with their bereavement and reconstitution. Children Years of Age: Themes acprof:oso/ Page 4 of 5

5 This chapter describes the impact of terminal cancer on the lives of 38 children 22 girls and 16 boys ages 12 to 14. They came from 35 families, and their surviving parents were 21 mothers and 14 fathers. Before early adolescence, each new developmental advance made it easier for parents to help their children with the stresses of a patient's illness and death. As their ability to understand what was happening progressed, the children controlled their emotions and behavior better, communicated more effectively, and were easier to understand and support. Although they expanded their world, the family remained at its center. The entrance into puberty and adolescence produced such a level of disquiet in these youngsters that it was harder to separate the reactions evoked by the patient's condition from reactions related to developmental changes. While many non-bereaved adolescents do exhibit minimal stress and disorganization during this developmental period, the event of parental terminal illness and death posed a significant challenge. Page 5 of 5