Who will I be now? : the lived experience of adolescent sibling bereavement within the school context

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores the needs of sibling-bereaved adolescents in high schools in the Western Cape, SouthAfrica. A grounded theory approach was used to examine unexpected sibling bereavement with specificfocus on participant perceptions and experiences regarding support provided by their high school.Interviews and focus groups were conducted with siblings who were in high school when their brother orsister died suddenly. An argument is developed for why high schools need insight into effective ways ofsupporting sibling-bereaved adolescents as they attempt to fit in and function at school.As this study was conducted in a multi-language environment, attention is given to the differing abilities ofadolescents to articulate their bereavement experience. The effectiveness of focus groups with thispopulation and the importance of providing psycho-education support during the interviewing process areemphasised. The scarcity of studies on adolescent bereavement in South Africa can be attributed to acombination of the emotional painfulness of the subject for adolescents and gatekeeping by schoolpersonnel and parents. Understandably, concerns about disclosure and fresh trauma/grief triggering maybe given precedence over research.Themes grounded in the data uncovered a psychosocial journey involving disruption, transition andchanged self. Bereaved siblings felt singled out as different from their peers when they return to school.Hence discreet acknowledgement and disclosure of the death is important to them. A key finding is thataccomplishment plays a significant role in boosting the flagging morale of bereaved adolescents.Accomplishment aids their inviduation and stimulates them to regain interest in their own life goals. Whileindividual teachers and other school personnel were considered helpful, there was an absence of astructured plan of support for bereaved adolescents in the schools examined. Attachment theoryforegrounded an explanation of why the loss of a sibling during adolescence can have a lasting influenceon the future of those left behind. Most adolescents in the study evidenced a desire for an on-goingconnection with their sibling who died while they simultaneously took on new roles to try and fill the voidcreated by their death. Findings from this study are intended to provide richer insight into the complexity ofadolescent sibling bereavement and may also serve to inform educational and health care interventions forbereaved learners in South Africa.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University