Factors influencing the severity of childhood bereavement reactions.

Abstract

As part of a longitudinal study of 25 preadolescent kibbutz children who lost their fathers during the October War of 1973, child, family, and circumstantial variables were examined in an effort to assess their relative contribution to the intense emotional disturbance exhibited by half of the group. Findings suggest that pretraumatic family and environmental factors are significant determinants of the duration and severity of bereavement.

Group intervention with children of parents with aids

“…Research studies have demonstrated the importance of support in promoting an adaptive response to bereavement (Elizur & Kaffman, 1983;Gray, 1987). Future research might examine the efficacy of support groups for these children in improving their academic functioning, lessening conduct disturbances, and increasing school attendance.…”

Protective factors and behavioral adjustment in preschool children of Iranian Martyrs

“…Following a trauma, young children may appear mute and withdrawn, and some elements of the traumatic event may show up in the child's play activities. Elizur and Kaffman (1983), in a sample of preschool children showed that the mental state of the mother was the most important predictor of outcomes for the child two to three years following the bereavement.…”

Adults View Their Childhood Bereavement Experiences

“…Reviewers of the literature from the 1920s through the 1970s ( Berlinsky & Biller, 1982 ;Crook & Eliot, 1980 ;Gregory, 1958 ;Lloyd, 1980 ;Markusen & Fulton, 1971) , criticized research design and methods for noncomparable samples, nonrepresentative samples, inappropriate applications of statistical signi® cance, unjusti® ed generalizations, and inappropriate inferences of causality from correlation studies. Theoretical assumptions about the inevitability of depression were questioned by researchers who cited examples of parentally bereaved children who had suc-C hildhood B ereavement E xperience s 19 cessfully resolved their grief because of strongly supportive family environments ( Birtchnell, 1969 ;Elizur & Ka man, 1983 ;E. Furman, 1974E.…”