Adolescent Bereavement

Abstract

The long-term effects of bereavement were assessed 7 to 9 years after death by interviews with 31 adolescent siblings from 21 families who participated in a longitudinal study of home carefor children with cancer. Categorical analysis of the semistructured interviews revealed that the majority of the adolescents viewed the experience as having fostered their personal or family growth. However, about I in 6 regarded the effects of a sibling death as continuing to have a negative impact on their lives. Factors associated with a more positive outlook were good communication in the family, ability to share the death experience with others, expression of pleasure in sibling's company, and reliance on the family for emotional support. Factors associated with a more negative outlook were withdrawal from family interaction, inability to use the family as a source of support, and difficulty in discussing one's experience with death.