Adolescents' Experiences 7 and 13 Months After the Death of a Brother or Sister

Abstract

This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to describe adolescents’ responses at 7 and 13 months to siblings’ NICU/PICU/ED death. At 7 months, adolescents were asked about events around the sibling’s death; at 7 and 13 months, about concerns/fears, feelings, and life changes. Seventeen adolescents participated (13-18 years; M=15); 65% Black, 24% Hispanic, 11% White. Themes included death circumstances, burial events, thinking about the deceased sibling, fears, and life changes. Adolescents reported shock and disbelief that the sibling died; 80% knew the reason for the death; many had difficulty getting through burials; all thought about the sibling. From 7 - 13 months fears increased including losing someone and thoughts of dying. Adolescents reported more changes in family life and greater life changes in them (more considerate, mature) by 13 months; some felt friends abandoned them after the sibling’s death. Girls had more fears and changes in family life and themselves. Adolescent’s responses to sibling death may not be visually apparent. One recommendation from this study is to ask adolescents how they are doing separately from parents since adolescents may hide feelings to protect their parents, especially their mothers. Older adolescents (14-18 years) and girls may have more difficulty after sibling death.

Black, White, and Hispanic Children's Health and Function 2-13 Months After Sibling Intensive Care Unit Death

“…Parents rated children who saw their sibling in the ICU/ED before or after the death as being more withdrawn and having more somatic complaints and rule-breaking behaviors. As noted in other studies 8,9,13 , seeing their dying sibling in the ICU/ED gives children time to see the sibling "person to person" 9 , to say good-bye verbally, hold the sibling's hand, or just spend time at the bedside with their sibling. For children whose sibling died as a neonate without going home, seeing the sibling may make the sibling's existence more real and diminish fantasies children may develop about their sibling.…”

“…A sibling's death has been reported as frightening, confusing, and lonely 4,5 , with children having nightmares, depression, separation anxiety, panic attacks, guilt, and trouble concentrating, especially in school [6][7][8][9][10][11] . In this study, 43% of children had elevated anxiety and 6% had some depression in the first 13 months after the sibling's death, much higher than US national data for anxiety or depression (3% each) 34 in 4-to 17-year-old children.…”

“…Data on children's responses to sibling loss by race/ethnicity is very limited. More Black school-age children reported thinking about their deceased sibling at 7 and 13 months after the death and reported more fears and changes in themselves than Hispanic and White children 8 ; differences in adolescents were not found 9 .…”

Parent and child perceptions of the child's health at 2, 4, 6, and 13 months after sibling intensive care or emergency department death

“…According to Barrera et al, (2013), adolescents avoid expressing their feelings to their parents and instead engage in high-risk behaviors. Their physical and emotional well-being may deteriorate due to feelings of loneliness, changes in eating habits, and changes in the family structure (Brooten et al, 2017; Roche et al, 2016).…”

The Impact of a Sibling's Death in Intensive Care Unit: Are We Doing Enough to Help Them?

“…Adolescents started being more considerate to their loved ones and showed more maturity by 13 months. Some also reported a sense of abandonment from their friends after the tragic event [ 1 ].…”