Developing services for bereaved children: A discussion of the theoretical and practical issues involved

Stokes, Julie; Pennington, Jodi; Monroe, Burt L.; Papadatou, Danai; Relf, Marilyn

doi:10.1080/713685977

Cited by 30 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…It is argued that helping parents as early as possible helps to normalize the experience of bereavement and prevent problems from becoming even more serious (Stokes et al, 1999). Although little evidence exists to support this argument (Thompson & Payne, 2000), a commonsensical preventative approach based on helping families to begin to face the reality of loss before death is a well-established goal in practice whenever possible (CSBS, 2001;Veach et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Preliminary work to assess children directly suggests that their anxiety levels are lower when they are fully informed and able to discuss the illness with their parents (Rosenheim & Reicher, 1985;Nelson et al, 1994). Children facing bereavement need to receive clear information and to have opportunities for emotional expression, to feel involved and to have their feelings, fears and questions taken seriously (Monroe, 1990;Pennells & Smith, 1995;Elsegood, 1996;Worden, 1996;Sheldon, 1997;Barnard et al, 1999;Stokes et al, 1999). These need to be tailored to the individual child's developmental stage (Christ, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…However, evidence generally suggests that some children experiencing the death of a parent are at increased risk of developing behavioural, psychological and psychiatric problems, which early assistance could help to prevent (Rutter, 1981;Weller et al, 1991;Silverman & Worden, 1992;Black & Young, 1995;Berman et al, 1998). The functioning of the surviving parent has been identified as an important factor in children's adjustment (Silverman & Worden, 1992;Edelman, 1994;Worden, 1996;Stokes et al, 1999). The way that children learn of the death is argued to be crucial, particularly the reactions of the surviving parent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Telling children their ill parent is dying: a study of the factors influencing the well parent

Macpherson

2005

Mortality

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This study explores the issues and difficulties that influenced surviving parents when they were faced with telling their children that their ill parent would die. In-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with nine participants who had been through this experience. Thematic analysis was used to highlight the internal experience within the well parent, in relation to the dying parent and to their children. Participants' experiences were shown to be inherently related to holding paradox, specifically in terms of their own conflicting needs and conflicting needs within the family. The importance of following the lead of the dying parents and the implications of this for therapeutic practice are considered.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Telling children their ill parent is dying: a study of the factors influencing the well parent

Macpherson

2005

Mortality

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“…Over the past two decades, bereavement services have begun to emerge as a significant form of specialised support for children and young people (referred to generically in this paper as 'children'), and there is an increasing UK (as opposed to US) literature about the practical issues involved (Stokes et al, 1999;Melvin & Lukeman, 2000;Worswick, 2000); the types of interventions that services use (Stokes & Crossley, 1996;Potts, Farrell & OToole, 1999;Nugus Challenges in evaluating childhood bereavement services 1 The uncertain nature of childhood bereavement…”

Section: The Complexity Of the Child Bereavement Service Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in evaluating childhood bereavement services

Dip

2011

Bereavement Care

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This paper discusses the evaluation of childhood bereavement services in the UK policy context and some of the challenges this presents. Two key difficulties are discussed: the lack of any clear, agreed outcomes from bereavement interventions with children, and the challenge of evaluating the complex social processes that bereavement interventions involve. Two recommendations are made to address these in the short term and to generate data for wider research.These are: to strengthen services' existing evaluation strategies, and to develop a routine evaluation package that can be used by all services. This would comprise a basic data set, a user satisfaction questionnaire, and a childhood bereavementfocused clinical outcome routine evaluation measure. In the longer term, further research is recommended, including UK-based longitudinal studies.

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“…Whether a coping response is inhibited or encouraged by significant others will both guide and shape a person's coping responses (Stroebe et al, 2006). Children rely on the functioning of the surviving parent following the death of a parent (Stokes et al, 1999). This parent becomes critical in modelling, supporting and giving permission for the child's grieving (Biank & Werner-Lin, 2011;Bowlby, 1980;Elizur & Kaffman, 1983).…”

Section: An Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two homes that used to be one: What has grief got to do with it?

Wigginton¹

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Despite five decades of extensive international research into children's adjustment following parental separation, little has been empirically established about the way in which children navigate this process. Furthermore, the use of children's direct reports about their experience is significantly underrepresented in the literature. Situated within a Social Constructionist framework, this thesis seeks to explore children's direct reports about their experiences during the first two years of separation. The aims of this thesis are twofold: firstly, to gain an understanding of children's experiences of adjustment following a separation based on their own reports; and secondly, to explore the extent to which a grief perspective, the Dual Process Model (DPM), assists in the understanding of these experiences.A qualitative design, utilizing an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach was adopted to ensure rich data would be gathered in exploring children's accounts of their own experiences. In-depth semi-structured interviews were utilized in keeping with IPA which were complemented with a range of developmentally appropriate creative mediums, such as drawing, storytelling and symbolic use of figurines. The intent was to facilitate children's expression of their experiences in offering several modalities to complement the interview process. All interviews were video recorded to capture the detail of interviews, such as silence and pauses, which were relevant to understanding the transcripts.Recruitment was initially conducted through a community based organization which was later supplemented by other recruitment sources. The final sample comprised four families, all within the first two years of separation. Seven children, aged between seven and 13 years, took part in interviews. Six parents from these four families also elected to take part in parent interviews.These parent interviews allowed another perspective/s to be gained regarding a child's unique family context and adjustment. Interviews were conducted at two points through the study, approximately six months apart. In keeping with IPA, allowing participants to talk of how their experiences changed over time was significant.Thematic analysis was first applied to the children's data, using the transcripts from both interviews. The themes were then explored against the DPM to understand the extent to which this model assisted in making sense of children's experiences.Thematic analysis resulted in the following themes being identified. Firstly, in keeping with IPA, children were asked to talk of their understanding of the separation. The Meaning of Separation thematically groups both their literal explanations of the word 'separation' and also the more complex and deeper levels of meaning they attributed to the term. Secondly, children talked about a sense of feeling Alone during the initial period of hearing about the separation, despite being around family and friends who might have been trying to interact with them. This sense of iii ...

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Developing services for bereaved children: A discussion of the theoretical and practical issues involved

Cited by 30 publications

References 16 publications

Telling children their ill parent is dying: a study of the factors influencing the well parent

Telling children their ill parent is dying: a study of the factors influencing the well parent

Challenges in evaluating childhood bereavement services

Two homes that used to be one: What has grief got to do with it?

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