The price of loss – how childhood bereavement impacts education
Atle Dyregrov
Center for Crisis Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway. atle@uib.no
Martin Lytje
Center for Crisis Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway; Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark
Sophie Rex Christensen
Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark
Based on a
narrative review, this article describes the educational consequences and the
risk and protective factors associated with losing a parent before the age of
18. A limited number of studies depict the relations between parental loss and
student wellbeing and class relations. More research confirms that parental
bereavement negatively impacts educational attainment and completion. Most
studies have found that children from homes with low socio-economic resources
underperform academically. This impact is stronger on girls in terms of lower
educational completion and more negative self-perceived school performance.
Having a well-educated surviving parent reduces risk. Deaths due to external
factors (ie suicide or accidents) are particularly associated with reduced
completion of education. The reasons behind academic decline or achievement are
complicated; however, support from surviving parents and support from schools
are important factors in helping children realise their academic potential.
1. The educational consequences of the loss of a parent necessitate better follow-up procedures within school systems to ensure that studentsŐ educational potential is realised.
2. Good support from remaining parents and teachers will help a child returning to school life following bereavement.
3. Improvement of teachersŐ knowledge about how bereavement impact children and their schooling will make them more comfortable in engaging with children.
4. Using available, and developing new specific measures to assist with educational problems related to attention and memory problems can possibly be part of attenuating academic difficulties.
child bereavement; educational attainment; risk and
protective factors
This
article serves as a follow-up to the literature review titled ÔThe price of
loss – A literature review of the psychosocial and health consequences of
childhood bereavementŐ, which explored the psychosocial and health consequences
associated with such losses (Lytje & Dyregrov, 2019). Due to the scope of
these topics, the previous article refrained from exploring the educational
consequences of parental bereavement. In the present article we remedy this
omission by investigating the educational consequences of losing a parent1
before the age of 18. However, as many people continue studying after reaching
the age of 18, this article also discusses studies on how education in early
adulthood is impacted by parental loss during childhood.
The
research question for this review is as follows: ÔWhat are the educational consequences and risk and protective factors
associated with losing a parent before the age of 18?Ő We describe how
diverse aspects of a childŐs life, including social and mental wellbeing in
school, educational attainment, grades, and educational level, are affected by
the loss of a parent in childhood. Furthermore, we consider whether any risk or
protective factors2 play a role in determining a childŐs academic performance
following parental loss and whether there are forms of support that can mediate
any potential risk factors.
While our
literature review is limited to sources concerning those under the age of 18,
it also explores the challenges that bereaved children might experience during
adulthood. Childhood bereavement is defined here as having lost a parent before
the age of 18.
Our
exploration of the literature takes the form of a narrative review. Greenhalgh
et al (2018) describe this method as a process in which authors carefully
select and present evidence based on what is relevant in terms of answering key
research questions. Similarly, Mays and colleagues (2005) describe a narrative
review as an effective means of answering a research question through the
inclusion of both qualitative and quantitative studies.
According
to Greenhalgh et al (2018) narrative reviews are often misunderstood and
dismissed in favour of systematic reviews. This tendency has had the
consequence that the process of that of search and averaging has been perceived
as more important than the thoughtful and reflective process applied in
narrative reviews. This perception is problematic, as it is questionable
whether systematic reviews suffer from fewer issues than narrative reviews
(Greenhalgh et al, 2018). This was underscored when Malterud et al (2016)
reviewed 151 systematic reviews and found that the majority had significant
issues in terms of the quality or relevance of their underlying documentation.
Based on this finding, Greenhalgh et al (2018) concluded that the narrative
review is not an inferior review technique but rather an alternative and
complementary approach to reviewing material. In our previous review (Lytje &
Dyregrov, 2019), we went into further detail regarding the strengths and
weaknesses of narrative reviews; should the reader have any questions regarding
the validity of this method, we refer them to this previous publication.
In the
present review, Scandinavian and English literature is prioritised, with the
focus being on studies published from 2000 onward. This approach is intended to
highlight advances in our understanding of the educational consequences of
bereavement. By including more recent studies, we take into account the
improvements in socio-economic conditions and welfare systems that have
occurred in most countries over the last 50 years. Explorations of the
educational consequences of loss have mainly been undertaken by researchers
working in the fields of psychology, educational psychology, and education.
Therefore the studies explored in this review are drawn from these fields, as
well as from multidisciplinary bereavement journals (eg Bereavement Care, Death
Studies). The included articles were identified based on an earlier review
conducted by Lytje (2016) and individual literature searches performed during
the drafting of this manuscript (with the last being performed on the 30 May
2021). These searches were performed using PsycINFO and Google Scholar (general
search and reverse citation search) as well as Web of Knowledge. Articles were
selected based on their quality and ability to present new evidence concerning
the educational challenges associated with parental loss. This approach led to
the inclusion of 42 studies, which have been utilised for the creation of this
review.
In the
following review, findings are divided into three categories: 1) wellbeing and
class relations, 2) educational attainment and grades, and 3) risk and
protective factors. This approach allows the most important study findings to
be presented and evaluated in terms of their importance for our understanding
of how parental bereavement impacts childrenŐs educational achievement.
There are
only a limited number of studies depicting the relationship between parental
loss on the one hand and student wellbeing and class relations on the other. A
Danish study by Jorgensen et al (2019) included 10,792 students aged
10–21. Of these, 323 reported having lost a parent or step-parent. The
study did not find any significant differences between bereaved students and
students who had not lost a family member in terms of feeling part of the
school community; however, the authors noted that 11% fewer of the bereaved
children felt accepted for who they were compared with non-bereaved. The
authors found that 14% fewer of the bereaved school-aged students were spending
time with friends during breaks and that 26% more of the bereaved students had
met with a psychologist when compared with non-bereaved classmates. Regarding
secondary education, 12% more of the bereaved children had seen a student
counsellor when compared with their non-bereaved peers. The results obtained by
Jorgensen et al (2019) indicate that while the bereaved students themselves
perhaps did not believe that they had changed much, there were clear
indications that they required more mental health attention than their
non-bereaved classmates.
In addition
to struggling mentally, bereaved students also have difficulties in
reconnecting with their classmates when they return to school. Lytje (2018a)
interviewed 39 parentally bereaved students concerning their experiences of
returning to school following a parental loss. The bereaved students were
rarely prepared for the sheer number of challenges that arose at school in the
wake of their losses, such as how to talk to classmates about what had happened
and deal with difficult emotions when at school. As staff did not help students
reintegrate into their classes in a healthy manner, the bereaved children felt
different from their classmates and alone with their grief. These findings are
in line with those of Nielsen et al (2012), who found that 20% of the bereaved
individuals in their study had not talked with anyone about being bereaved, and
those of Silverman and Worden (1993), who determined that only 46% of the
children whom they surveyed had talked with their peers about their deceased
parents.
Challenges
can also arise when a school attempts to provide support. Lytje (2018a) found
that bereaved students often do not feel that they have a say in determining
the forms of support that are ÔprescribedŐ for them. This impression can
exacerbate the sense of powerlessness caused by the loss itself. Students,
therefore, wish to have a say in decisions concerning the support that their
schools provide to them. The students in the study also found it problematic
that, as time passed, staff often forgot that bereaved students had lost a
parent. This led to incidents in which teachers discussed death in class
without warning the bereaved students beforehand. The bereaved students
described such situations as ÔhellŐ (Lytje, 2016, p257). This finding is in line
with the recommendations provided in a study by Dyregrov, Endsjo et al (2015)
that included the perspectives of primary and secondary school teachers; the
interviewed teachers indicated that students who were bereaved because of an
unnatural or stigmatised form of death, such as suicide or murder, should be
offered exemption from a class should the curriculum require that type of death
to be discussed.
Over the
past decades, studies have explored how parental loss influences childrenŐs
ability to concentrate and perform in a school system. Early studies often
suffered from methodical weakness and small sample sizes, which in turn led to
divergent findings. Most studies (eg Abdelnoor & Hollins, 2004; Grollman,
1967; Holland, 1993; Servaty-Seib & Hamilton, 2006) found a decrease in school performance,
while a few reported an increase (eg Dowdney, 2000; Silverman & Worden,
1993). In her review of the literature in the field, Dowdney (2000) contended
that the divergence in results might be explained with reference to
inconsistencies in study sampling, measurements, and methodology; many earlier
studies failed to take into account factors such as previous school
performance, studentsŐ overall level of competence, and type of loss. Holland
(2008) suggested that reactions vary from child to child depending on age,
experience, personality, and type of loss. Finally, Dowdney (2000) argued that
the different variables made it difficult to draw general conclusions
concerning the consequences of childrenŐs losses other than that they vary.
In a survey
of Norwegian teachers (Dyregrov, Dyregrov et al, 2015), more than 80% of the
participants answered that, to some degree, it is true that studentsŐ school
performance declines following a death. However, the cause of parental death
was not specified in this study. Berg et al (2014) undertook a register-based
cohort study in Sweden that examined the association between parental death
before the age of 15 and school performance from age 15–16 in 9,540
children who had lost mothers and 22,313 children who had lost fathers. The
authors found that parental death was associated with lower grades and students
failing school. The proportion of school failure among children who had
experienced parental loss was 6.5% versus 3.5% in the group of children who had
not. The study also found that bereaved children generally achieved slightly
worse grades. Declining grades were also noted in Denmark, where Jorgensen et
al (2018) studied 1,155,214 individuals, of whom 7,141 had lost a parent to
cancer. This study found that children who had experienced parental loss
achieved slightly lower grade point averages in the ninth grade; this resonates
with Abdelnoor and HollinsŐ (2004) finding that bereaved children scored on
average half a grade lower than controls. In addition, at the university level,
young bereaved people performed worse compared with students who had not
suffered a loss (Prix & Erola, 2017). In contrast, a study of 250
parentally bereaved children (late kindergarten to early school years) drawn
from a sample of 21,410 schoolchildren in the United States did not find
bereavement to result in lower academic grades (Williams and Aber, 2016).
However, Feigelman et al (2017), who employed longitudinal data from the United
States to investigate various effects of parental death during childhood or
teenage years on the functioning of bereaved individuals in adolescence and
early adulthood, found that bereaved children of both genders were more likely
to have been suspended or expelled from school and to have repeated a grade. In
addition, the bereaved group reported that, on average, they had completed one
year less formal education.
A Danish
study (Kristiansen, 2021) that included 71,448 parentally bereaved children
also found that boysŐ educational outcomes were more affected than those of
girls. In addition, this study also showed that a loss close to educationally
important time points (eg such as exams and decision-making regarding future
education) had more adverse effects. This study employed a quasi-experimental
design where children experiencing a death (or other parental health events)
shortly before a cut-off point (eg a school exam or application deadline for
senior secondary schooling) were compared with children who experienced a death
shortly after a cut-off point. Children who experienced a death shortly before
an exam received test scores 21% of a standard deviation lower than those who
had lost a parent after an exam.
In
addition, several studies have investigated the rates of completion of
education among bereaved children. Jorgensen et al (2018) found that
educational attainment was negatively affected in a group of bereaved children,
as they were 61% more likely to attain the lowest educational level. Sapharas
et al (2016) concurred with this finding, as they demonstrated that paternal
death predicted a 79% decrease in the likelihood of completing high school
among female students. A register-based Norwegian study conducted by Burrell et
al (2020) explored the impact of parental death on education based on 373,104
individuals, of whom 3,692 had experienced parental death due to external
causes (eg accidents, homicides, and suicides) before the age of 18. The
authors found that regarding compulsory education, 95.1% of children who had
not been bereaved completed their school education, while 95.8% of bereaved
children did the same. For high school, these figures were 67.2% and 56.3%,
respectively, and, for university education and college education, they were
33.4% and 24.9%, respectively. Thus, the effect was non-existent for the
completion of basic school education but evident for high school and university
education. Cause of death was not associated with reduced completion of
university or college education, but parental suicide was explicitly related to
reduced completion of vocational education. These results are in line with
those of studies conducted in the Danish and Finnish context which, are
summarised below. Hoeg et al (2019) explored the educational consequences of
losing a parent before the age of 18 using population data from 1,043,813
Danes. Of these individuals, 21,699 had suffered childhood parental loss, and
those individuals had significantly lower attainment rates when compared with
their non-bereaved counterparts. For primary and secondary school, the
difference was around 4–5%; however, for bachelor-level education, the
difference soared to 26% for men and 17% for women. ParentsŐ gender, cause of
death, and childŐs age at the time of the parental death did not modify these
associations, nor did socio-economic status or history of psychiatric illness
in the family. Veldman and colleagues (2015) also found the death of a parent
to be associated with reduced educational attainment in a Dutch prospective
cohort study with a nine-year follow-up (N = 2,230). In a Finnish register
study, Kailaheimo and Kotimaki (2019) used data concerning 108,875 children to
study the highest educational level attained by the age of 22 among 3,485
children who had lost fathers in childhood. The authors found that paternally
bereaved children had a 7.3 percentage point lower probability of attaining a
university education but concluded that the association was not reliable. The
authors here suggested that safety nets available in the Finnish welfare system
might mitigate some of the risk associated with parental death. Such safety
nets would not be available in many other countries.
When
exploring the potential causes of lower educational attainment, several authors
have suggested concentration difficulties. This has been highlighted through
research involving both children (Lytje, 2018a; Nielsen et al, 2012) and their
teachers (eg Dyregrov, Dyregrov et al, 2015; Holland, 2003). According to
Dyregrov (2004), the problem is often attributed to the grieving child
experiencing intrusive memories of the deceased parent when attempting to
concentrate, especially when the death is associated with trauma. Intrusive
memories are particularly problematic in education that requires a high level
of attention. In addition, both psychological and social issues, such as a
child experiencing depression or a decrease in family income, can lead to
changes in life situations, which can affect a childŐs ability to function in
school (Cerel et al, 2006). Other factors, such as regressive behaviour,
increased absenteeism from school, and reduced self-esteem, may also affect
performance (Dyregrov, Dyregrov et al, 2015; Holland, 2008). Dyregrov (2004)
concluded that although we have a broad understanding that losses can lead to
difficulties in learning, we have limited knowledge of the causes. This still
seems to be the case.
When
adjusting for socio-economic factors in relation to the impact of bereavement
on school performance, authors have obtained conflicting results. Hoeg et al
(2019) did not find that socio-economic status or psychiatric illness in the
family had an influence on the significantly lower attainment rates among
bereaved children. However, a Scottish cohort study (Paul & Vaswani, 2020)
including 2,815 children found that children born into the lowest income
households had a greater risk of losing a parent or sibling than children born
into high-income households.
Berg et al
(2014) found bereaved children to be at increased risk of lower grades and
school failure but were able to attribute such difficulties to pre-existing
socio-economic disadvantages and psychosocial problems in the family.
Furthermore, the authors found that a greater impact could be noted when the
death of a parent was due to external causes (ie accident, violence, or
suicide) when compared with natural deaths. The importance of socio-economic
factors is supported by Jorgensen et al (2018), who found that the educational
achievements of children growing up under disadvantaged circumstances (eg a low
socio-economic status) are more negatively affected. In addition, Kailaheimo
and Kotimaki (2019) demonstrated that social background impacts educational
outcomes, as children with a highly educated deceased father were at increased
risk of underperforming in school, especially if the fatherŐs death was due to
an accident, suicide, or alcohol. This risk was particularly high if the father
was the only highly educated parent. If both parents were highly educated, the
child would have the greatest likelihood of academic success; therefore, a
highly educated mother serves as a protective factor. Further complicating the
findings, the protection offered by a motherŐs high education was found for
deaths due to suicide and alcohol, but not for accidents. Finally, Cerel et al
(2006) considered a higher socio-economic status to be a protective factor, as
it was associated with a child being more resilient in the time following a loss.
However,
some studies indicate that socio-demographic factors only have a minor impact
on school performance. Sapharas et al (2016) demonstrated that children with
mothers who had dropped out of high school were also less likely to complete
their education, and Prix and Erola (2017) determined that children did not
drop out of higher education (secondary school) if their mothers had access to
substantial socio-economic resources. The authors therefore concluded that when
young people experience a loss, those belonging to groups with access to
substantial socio-economic resources should be better able to mitigate the
negative effects of the death. This finding is echoed in Williams and Aber
(2016) who questioned the generally assumed socio-emotional outcomes in
bereaved children. They argued that children and adolescents generally seem to
work through their grief with the support of positive networks and resources
(eg friends, family, hobbies) in their immediate environment. The focus of
future research should therefore be on examining the specific reasons why a
minority of students do not do well.
Generally,
the exploration of what constitutes protective and risk factors has been an
area of significant focus. As noted previously, several studies have shown that
higher socio-economic status and a well-educated parent seem to act as
protective factors (eg Berg et al, 2014; Cerel et al, 2006; Kailaheimo &
Kotimaki, 2019; Prix & Erola, 2017). In addition, other consequences of
bereavement have been investigated. Berg et al (2014) found that children who
had lost a parent due to external causes attained lower grades and were more
likely to fail school compared with children who had lost a parent due to
natural causes. This result is partly supported by Burrell et al (2020), who
found that death due to external causes was linked to reduced completion of all
educational levels; parental suicide was particularly related to reduced
completion of vocational education. Furthermore, Burrell et al (2020) did not
find significant differences depending on the gender of the deceased parent.
However, they found maternal loss to only be associated with reduced hazard
ratios for the two highest education levels, whereas parental bereavement, in
general, was associated with reduced hazard ratios for all education levels.
Researchers
have also investigated the importance of the gender and age of bereaved
children. As mentioned previously, Burrell et al (2020) found few gender
differences among bereaved children in terms of the completion of different
education levels. However, sons had slightly reduced hazard ratios for
completing compulsory education following parental suicide and transport
accidents. Other studies have shown a more significant impact on girls.
Sapharas and co-workers (2016) found a 79% decrease in the likelihood of
completing high school among females, while Abdelnoor and Hollins (2004) also
found that parentally bereaved girls were more affected than boys, especially
after losing mothers; however, the latter study was subject to methodological
limitations. Finally, Raphael et al (1990) found that adolescent girls held
more negative perceptions of their school performance than did boys.
Concerning
the age of bereaved children, Berg et al (2014) found no difference in school
performance depending on age at the time of the parentŐs death, whereas
Abdelnoor and Hollins (2004) found that children below the age of five at
bereavement and children bereaved at age 12 had lower grades than controls.
While this study had few participants and limited methodological rigour, the
results are in line with those of Burrell et al (2020), who found that
bereavement before five years of age and between 10–15 years old reduced
the likelihood of completing vocational education. In contrast, all ages were
associated with significantly reduced hazard ratios for completing the two
highest education levels.
Holland
(1993) found that parents were the most important resource in terms of helping
a child, followed by schools, churches, health visitors, and social services.
The importance of schools as a significant support factor in the lives of
bereaved children has been established in a range of studies (Dyregrov &
Dyregrov, 2008; Holland, 2008; Lytje, 2017). While some studies (Lytje, 2018b;
Tracey, 2011) have found that children generally welcome such support, other
studies (eg Holland, 2008; Levkovich & Elyoseph, 2021) have shown that many
teachers do not feel adequately trained to handle bereavement. Holland (2001)
reported that British teachers were generally wary of engaging with bereaved
children, as they were worried about Ôcausing an upsetŐ (p 121). Levkovich and
Elosoph (2021), in a small-scale Israeli study, further found that teachers
often felt Ôhelpless, confused, overloaded emotionally and anxiousŐ when having
to support bereaved students.
Teachers
reported that the many tasks that they are responsible for during school hours,
as well as a strong focus on academic achievement, make it difficult to find
the time to provide psychosocial support to bereaved children (Dyregrov, Endsjo
et al, 2015; Holland, 2008). In addition, the possible benefits of school
support have seldom been explored. In a focus group study with 39 students aged
9–16 who all attended school, Lytje (2016) concluded that those who had
good support from teachers generally seemed to do better. Not only did such
support help them return to school but it also meant that teachers often helped
entire classes to find a way to deal with what had occurred. As such, there is
a strong case for educating staff on how to make significant differences in the
lives of bereaved children.
Following a
loss, bereaved children are less likely to thrive, and they strive to reconnect
with and talk to their peers about their grief (Jorgensen et al, 2019; Lytje,
2018a; Nielsen et al, 2012; Silverman & Worden, 1993). Most of the
available research confirms that parental bereavement negatively impacts
educational attainment and completion (Berg et al, 2014; Burrell et al, 2020;
Dyregrov, Endsjo et al, 2015; Hoeg et al, 2019; Jorgensen et al, 2018;
Kailaheimo & Kotimaki, 2019; Prix & Erola, 2017; Sapharas et al, 2016).
Most of these studies indicate a reduced school performance that results in a
decline in school grades. However, longitudinal studies illuminating both the
process and academic results over time will better inform targeted
interventions. By not being able to realise their educational potential,
bereaved children risk earning lower incomes throughout their lives and having
lower socio-economic status than those who have not suffered parental loss.
The
findings regarding protective and risk factors are mixed. While one study
indicates that socio-economic factors have no impact (Hoeg et al, 2019),
several studies show that higher socio-economic status and well-educated
parents act as protective factors (eg Berg et al, 2014; Cerel et al, 2006; Jorgensen
et al, 2018; Kailaheimo & Kotimaki, 2019; Prix & Erola, 2017; Sapharas
et al, 2016). Although socio-economic factors alone do not predict how well a
bereaved student will perform, the studies highlighted in this review indicate
that children from homes with low socio-economic resources are at increased
risk of underperforming. In addition, they are more likely to lose a family
member and have weaker support networks. These factors make an already
vulnerable group even more susceptible. Further studies on how socio-economic
resources interplay with resilience following parental bereavement would
therefore be welcome. Several studies reviewed suggest a stronger impact on
girls in terms of lower educational completion and more negative self-perceived
school performance (eg Abdelnoor & Hollins, 2004; Raphael et al, 1990;
Sapharas et al, 2016). Differences might reflect cultural and gender roles in
different societies, but there is a need for further studies to better
understand how gender and cultural differences interact when children are
bereaved.
The overall
divergence may partly reflect different welfare practices in various countries.
The Nordic countries have welfare models that offer free schools and
universities and protect vulnerable individuals and families from poverty.
However, even in welfare societies, several studies have demonstrated how loss
can negatively impact school performance and completion (eg in Norway by
Dyregrov, Dyregrov et al (2015) and Burrell et al (2020), in Sweden by Berg et
al (2014), in Finland by Prix and Erola (2017) and Kailaheimo and Kotimaki
(2019), and in Denmark by Jorgensen et al (2018) and Hoeg et al (2019)). These
countries should be able to support vulnerable children after a loss both in
their respective school systems as well as in society in general. In contrast
to these Nordic welfare countries, several studies have found no change or, in
some cases, increased performance in countries with less robust state support
systems, such as the United States and the UK (eg Abdelnoor & Hollins,
2004; Dowdney, 2000; Silverman & Worden, 1993; Williams & Aber, 2016).
Therefore, it would be meaningful to determine how school personnel in
different countries perceive and interact to support bereaved childrenŐs school
efforts and motivation.
Although
bereaved children may or may not be offered support in various countries, such
support is not necessarily tailored to the needs of individual children.
Challenges can arise when schools attempt to provide support, as demonstrated
by Lytje (2018a), who found that students felt trapped by the prescribed
support that they were provided in schools. Educational problems may develop in
parallel with students reporting that their teachers cannot adequately
understand what they have been through (Dyregrov, 2004). Even though
well-established guides for responding to bereavement in the school context
exist, some teachers report that a strong focus on academic achievement limits
their ability to provide psychosocial support (Holland, 2008; Dyregrov, Endsjo
et al, 2015). It seems clear that
children require psychosocial support from their schools, which can both help
ease the return to school and ensure that the classroom is a supportive place
in which they can fulfil their academic potential. If a teacher understands a
childŐs grief and the educational challenges a loss entails, better school
outcomes can be expected. However, further research is needed to determine the
influence of general teacher support (for a review, see Duncan (2020)) and
whether more specific measures intended to assist with attention and memory
difficulties can improve bereaved childrenŐs learning ability. Nevertheless,
teacher involvement necessitates that teachers feel comfortable engaging with
bereaved children and perceive doing so as part of their core duties.
As Holland
(1993) noted, schools are not the only important source of support for bereaved
children. The remaining parent and siblings are major sources of support, and,
if parental capacity is reduced, this can significantly impact a bereaved
childŐs situation following the loss. The study by Hoeg et al (2019) provides
convincing evidence that a loss itself also significantly influences a childŐs
resiliency. Supporting the remaining parent and children, promoting adaptive
parenting, and strengthening effective coping skills lead to fewer mental health
problems in bereaved children (Sandler et al, 2018). To mitigate some of the
possible risks, we believe it is important to support both the remaining parent
and the bereaved child. Parents can benefit from support intended to help them
cope with their grief, as it can allow them to remain stable and resourceful
adults for their child(ren) and maintain healthy family functioning post-loss.
As Williams and Aber (2016) argued, bereaved children generally work through
their grief better with the support of positive networks and resources.
This review
has described how the loss of a parent not only impacts the mental and physical
wellbeing of children but can also lead to challenges that impact their
educational attainment. Should they not receive adequate support, parentally
bereaved children might struggle to reconnect with friends and classmates upon
their return to school. Grief and intrusive thoughts may also lead to a decline
in grades and such children not attaining the same level of education as their
classmates. While low socio-economic resources seem to increase the risk of
children experiencing challenges with their education, several protective
factors also seem to exist. Chief among these is strong support from the
remaining parent and teachers, which may help a child ease back into school
life following the bereavement.
While our
understanding of how childhood bereavement affects education has increased with
time, there is still much we do not understand. Further insights are needed
into the factors that help and hinder childrenŐs educational attainment. While
factors such as age, gender, and type of loss (eg external cause or natural
death) have been considered, factors such as previous school performance and
type of support system or individual support offered to a child have not
received much attention. By gathering data from multiple sources (eg parents,
teachers, and bereaved children) and including childrenŐs individual
characteristics (eg their self-esteem or pre-bereavement ability to
concentrate), a better foundation for adequate interventions could be
established.
Notes
1
In
this narrative review, losing a parent refers exclusively to the death of a
parent.
2
In
this article, we perceive risk and protective factors as presented by Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (n.d.) https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/20190718-samhsa-risk-protective-factors.pdf
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