Children's adjustment to parental death

Abstract

Reviews the evidence regarding the effects of parental death on children's acute and long-term psychological adjustment, as well as the clinical literature describing interventions for bereaved families. The risk of adjustment difficulties for bereaved children has shown no consistent relation to complications of grieving, but is instead largely accounted for by an increased probability of inadequate care following the loss of a parent. The literature describing interventions for bereaved families offers little formal evaluation, and reflects our incomplete understanding of children's grief responses, and thus of appropriate treatment goals. Further research should focus on more molecular analysis of grief processes, including grief-related Interactions between children and parents, and should take into account developmental variation in children's needs and experiences. The use of multiple informants of child and parent behavior is strongly recommended, and the unique contributions of longitudinal research in understanding children's adjustment to loss are highlighted.