Childhood Bereavement and Interventions that Improve Outcomes & Increase Resilience
Open Access
- Author:
- Rensel, Alicia
- Area of Honors:
- Psychology (Behrend)
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Charisse Nixon, Thesis Supervisor
Kimberly Eileen Streiff, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- childhood bereavement
interventions
resilience - Abstract:
- Childhood bereavement is an adverse childhood experience that can put children at risk for several negative outcomes including psychiatric difficulties with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and prolonged grief disorder (PGD) (Spuij et al., 2015). In addition, children are at risk for aggression, externalizing and internalizing problems, social withdrawal, substance abuse, somatic symptoms, and emotional difficulties (Cipriano & Cipriano, 2019; Spuij et al., 2015). Unfortunately, childhood bereavement is not an uncommon occurrence, as about 4% of children in the U.S. will experience the death of a parent by the age of 18 (Schoenfelder er al., 2015). Bereavement interventions in the form of formal bereavement programs can play a major role in preventing these adverse outcomes from occurring. The purpose of this systematic review is to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of the interventions that make them effective in improving outcomes in bereaved children. The questions answered include: ‘What interventions were effective in addressing childhood grief reactions?’ (Question 1) and ‘What characteristics about the interventions helped to build the protective factors that made them effective?’ (Question 2). A systematic review was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, and PsychINFO. A description of the search terms used can be found in Appendix A. Inclusion criteria included articles that were published between 2015 and 2021, were original research articles, were peer reviewed, were written in English, and addressed childhood bereavement interventions. Articles were excluded if the target population was not bereaved children, if the article did not focus on bereavement interventions, if they were duplicate articles, or if they were systematic reviews. The systematic review includes a total of 18 articles, with supporting articles cited in the references. Interventions that included components to strengthen the individual child were effective. These interventions consisted of helping children develop coping strategies, protective factors, control, and meaning. Bereavement interventions that were most effective included elements that also focused on building strong systems around the child, according to Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems approach (Bronfenbrenner, 1974). These programs included a parental component to help parents through their grief, and they assisted caregivers in guiding their children through grief reactions. Recommendations to expand the systems approach are included in the discussion. They include implementing a mentoring program into bereavement interventions and creating a systemized way to refer children to bereavement services. Several professions have the means to reach bereaved children and guide them into proper bereavement programs. However, there is a lack of training and a lack of a system to do so. It would benefit bereaved children if healthcare workers, funeral home directors, school nurses, teachers, and other community members received the proper training in identifying at-risk children and referring them to bereavement services available within the community they are in. This systematic approach could save the lives of children burdened with bereavement.