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Children’s reactions to parental and sibling death

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Abstract

A signi.cant population of children will experience bereavement because of the death of a parent or a sibling. This grief is different from the bereavement seen in adults and needs to be understood in a developmental context. Cognitive and emotional understanding of death and dying in children gradually evolves with age. This report provides clinicians with information regarding the unique developmental elements in children that relate to the process of bereavement secondary to parental and sibling loss, risk factors for complicated grief, the warning signs of depression and anxiety beyond normal grief reaction, and the guidelines for intervention in children.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 3440 Market Street, Suite 200, 19104, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Elizabeth B. Weller MD

Authors
  1. Aradhana Bela Sood MD
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  2. Amit Razdan MD
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  3. Elizabeth B. Weller MD
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  4. Ronald A. Weller MD
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Correspondence to Elizabeth B. Weller MD.

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Sood, A.B., Razdan, A., Weller, E.B. et al. Children’s reactions to parental and sibling death. Curr Psychiatry Rep 8, 115–120 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-006-0008-0

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