Understanding children's experiences of parental bereavement / John Holland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Holland, John, 1948-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bereavement in children.

Parents--Death--Psychological aspects.

Parents.

Children and death.

Physical Description:

222 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; Philadelphia, PA : J. Kingsley Publishers, 2001.

Summary:

Children experience death very differently from adults in terms of their understanding, control, and the level and type of information they require. Bereaved children therefore need different kinds of help from bereaved adults. Understanding Children's Experiences of Parental Bereavement is based on the author's work in the area of child bereavement, loss and schools over a ten-year period. This included notably a doctoral project carried out at the University of York entitled Project Iceberg, involving adults who had been through the experience of a parent dying while they were of school age. The findings of this project form the basis of the book's exploration into the way children are affected at the time of, and potentially for many years after, the death of a parent. A revised childhood model of loss is suggested to help to explain the experiences of children after the death of a parent. John Holland also examines funerals and the significance of rituals, as well as the importance of a careful transition back to school and of effective communication. Age and gender differences in children's grieving are also considered.

As well as offering valuable insight into the impact of death on children, this comprehensive study assesses in a practical fashion how schools, the caring professions and parents can better support children through a parental bereavement.

Contents:

1 The Humberside studies and lceberg 15

2 Change and losses in the cultural context 19

3 The 'traditional' models of loss 28

4 Schema theory and the importance of language 33

5 Childhood bereavement and its effects 36

6 How schools help bereaved children 42

7 Children's understanding of and interest in death 50

8 The background to Iceberg 53

9 Introduction to the results 63

10 The first reactions to the death 66

11 The chapel of rest and the funeral 80

12 The return to school 92

13 The isolation of the Iceberg volunteers 117

14 The Iceberg volunteers' feelings over the two year period after the death of their parents 125

15 The medium and long-term effects of the death of their parents on the Iceberg volunteers 150

16 The age at which volunteers gained an idea of death 165

17 Different types of loss 172

18 The experience of death by the Iceberg volunteers 181

19 Conclusions to the research questions 188

Appendix 1 Interview sheet: pupil 195

Appendix 2 Interview sheet: parent 199.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 203-209) and index.

ISBN:

1843100169

OCLC:

46884187