UK childhood bereavement services: A reflection on their development and cultural influence
Keywords:
Childhood bereavement services, childhood bereavement, service development, impact, cultureAbstract
AbstractChildhood bereavement services are a relatively recent form of child welfare provision in the UK. They are predicated on assumptions about the development of children and on an increasing research base that describes the potential impact of childhood bereavement and that support following bereavement is beneficial. UK services largely began as a result of practitioners responding to the needs of bereaved children. Over time, services have become more formalised into an organisational framework, contributing to and influenced by practice based experience, research and training. They have become more sophisticated and wide-ranging in their response to the needs of bereaved children for which there is evidence of a favourable impact on their wellbeing. More importantly, as a structural form of provision now embedded within the UK’s health and social landscape, childhood bereavement services have had a significant impact on social policy and the wider cultural discourse concerning bereaved children.
References
Ackerman, R., & Statham, J. (2014). Bereavement in childhood: The impact on psychological and educational outcomes and the effectiveness of support services. Working Paper No. 25. London: Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education.
Alldred, P. (1998). Ethnography and discourse analysis: Dilemmas in representing the voices of children. In J.Ribbens, & R.Edwards (Eds.), Feminist dilemmas in qualitative research: Public knowledge and private lives (pp. 147–170). London: Sage.
Archer, J. (1999). The nature of grief: The evolution and psychology of the actions to loss. London: Routledge.
Ariés, P. (1962). Centuries of childhood. New York: Vintage.
Bertman, S. I. (1991). Children and death: Insights, hindsights and illuminations. In D.Papadatou, & C.Papadatou (Eds.), Children and Death (pp. 311–329). New York: Hemisphere.
Birenbaum, L. K. (2000). Assessing children's and teenagers’ bereavement when a sibling dies from cancer: A secondary analysis. Child: Care, Health and Development, 26(5), 381–400.
Black, D. (1983). Bereaved children-family intervention: A research report. Bereavement Care, 2(2), 4–11. doi: 10.1080/02682628308657076
Black, D., & Urbanowicz, M. A. (1987). Family intervention with bereaved children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 28(3), 467–476. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1987.tb01767.x
Black, D. (1991). Family intervention with families bereaved or about to be bereaved. In D.Papadatou, & C.Papadatou (Eds.), Children and death (pp. 135–143). New York: Hemisphere.
Black, D. (1996). Childhood bereavement: Death and long term sequelae can be lessened by early intervention. British Medical Journal, 312, 1496. doi: 10.1136/bmj.312.7045.1496
Blanche, M., & Smith, S. (2000). Bereaved children's support groups: Where are we now? European Journal of Palliative Care, 7(4), 142–144.
Bluebond-Langner, M. (1989). Worlds of dying children and their well siblings. Death Studies, 13, 1–16. doi: 10.1080/07481188908252274
Bowlby, J. (1980/1998). Attachment and loss. Vol. 3: Loss, sadness and depression. London: Pimlico. (First published in 1980 by London: Hogarth Press).
Bradshaw, J. (1972). A taxonomy of social need. In G.McLachlan (Ed.), Problems and progress in medical care. Essays on current research, 7th series (pp. 71–82). London: Oxford University Press.
Brannen, J., & O’Brien, M. (1996). Introduction. In J.Brannen, & M.O’Brien (Eds.), Children in families: Research and policy (pp. 1–12). London: Falmer Press.
Brewer, J. D., & Sparkes, A. C. (2011a). Parentally bereaved children and posttraumatic growth: Insights from an ethnographic study of a UK childhood bereavement service. Mortality, 16(3), 204–222. doi: 10.1080/13576275.2011.586164
Brewer, J. D., & Sparkes, A. C. (2011b). Young people living with parental bereavement: Insights from an ethnographic study of a UK childhood bereavement service. Social Science and Medicine, 72(2), 283–290. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.10.032
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1992). Ecological systems theory. In R.Vasta (Ed.), Six theories of child development (pp. 187–249). London: Jessica Kingsley.
Buckingham, D. (2000). After the death of childhood: Growing up in the age of electronic media. Cambridge: Polity.
Childhood Bereavement Network (undated). Grief matters for children. Retrieved from www.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/media/57656/Grief-Matters-for-Children-2017.pdf [accessed 21 July 2019].
Chowns, G. (2013). ‘Until it ends, you never know … ’: Attending to the voice of adolescents who are facing the likely death of a parent. Bereavement Care, 32(1), 23–30. doi: 10.1080/02682621.2013.779822
Christ, G. (2000). Healing children's grief: Surviving a parents death through cancer. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Churchill, H. (2018). No 39: Austerity adversely targets children in need. Social Policy Association. 50th Anniversary Blog Series. Retrieved from www.social-policy.org.uk/50-for-50/austerity-children/ [accessed 14 March 2019].
Corden, A., Sainsbury, R., & Sloper, P. (2004). Money matters and bereavement support. Bereavement Care, 23(2), 19–21. doi: 10.1080/02682620408657600
Corsaro, W. A. (1997). The sociology of childhood. London: Pine Forge Press.
Couldrick, A. (1991). When your Mum or Dad has cancer. Oxford: Sobell Publications.
Couldrick, A. (1992). Optimizing bereavement outcome: Reading the road ahead. Social Science and Medicine, 35(12), 1521–1523. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(92)90055-U
Cross, S. (2002). ‘I can’t stop feeling sad’: Calls to ChildLine about bereavement. London: ChildLine.
Davies, B. (1991). Responses of children to the death of a sibling. In D.Papadatou, & C.Papadatou (Eds.), Children and death (pp. 125–133). New York: Hemisphere.
Dent, A., & Stewart, A. (2004). Sudden death in childhood: Support for the bereaved family. London: Butterworth Heinemann.
Department for Education (2019). Character and resilience: A call for evidence. Retrieved from https://consult.education.gov.uk/character-citizenship-cadets-team/character-and-resilience-a-call-for-evidence/supporting_documents/Character%20and%20Resilience%20Call%20for%20Evidence.pdf [accessed 29 July 2019].
Department of Health. (2008). End of Life Care Strategy: Promoting high quality care for all adults at the end of life. London: Department of Health. Retrieved from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/136431/End_of_life_strategy.pdf [accessed 30 August 2010].
Department of Health. (2015). Future in mind. Promoting, protecting and improving our children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. London: Department of Health. Retrieved from https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20170422110702/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/414024/Childrens_Mental_Health.pdf [accessed 29 July 2019].
Department of Health/Department for Education (2017). Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision: A Green Paper. Retrieved from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/664855/Transforming_children_and_young_people_s_mental_health_provision.pdf [accessed 29 July 2019].
Dietz, L. J., Stoyak, S., Melhem, N., Porta, G., Matthews, K. A., Walker Payne, M., & Brent, D. A. (2013). Cortisol response to social stress in parentally bereaved youth. Biological Psychiatry, 73(4), 379–387. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.08.016
Dowdney, L. (2000). Annotation: Childhood bereavement following parental death. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 7, 819–830. doi: 10.1111/1469-7610.00670
Dyregrov, A. (1991). Grief in children: A handbook for adults. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Dyregrov, A. (2008). Grief in children: A handbook for adults. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Dyregrov, A., Gupta, L., Gjestad, R., & Mukanoheli, E. (2000). Trauma exposure and psychological reactions to genocide among Rwandan children. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13(1), 3–21. doi: 10.1023/A:1007759112499
Fauth, B., Thompson, M., & Penny, A. (2009). Associations between childhood bereavement and children’s background, experiences and outcomes: Secondary analysis of the 2004 Mental Health of Children and Young People in Great Britain Data. London: National Children’s Bureau.
Fattore, T., Mason, J., & Watson, E. (2016). Children’s understandings of well-being: Towards a child standpoint. Dordrecht: Springer.
Fleming, S., & Balmer, L. (1991). Group intervention with bereaved children. In D.Papadatou, & C.Papadatou (Eds.), Children and Death (pp. 105–124). New York: Hemisphere.
Foley, P. (2001). Foreword: Children in society: Contemporary theory, policy and practice. In P.Foley, J.Roche, & S.Tucker (Eds.), Children in society (pp. 1–6). Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Foster, L., Woodthorpe, K., & Walker, A. (2019). From cradle to grave?: Policy responses to death in the UK. Mortality, 24(1), 1–16. doi: 10.1080/13576275.2017.1414776
Freud, S. (1917). Mourning and melancholia. In J.Strachey (Ed.), On metapsychology: The theory of psychoanalysis (pp. 251–267). London: Penguin.
Grinyer, A. (2012). A bereavement group for parents whose son or daughter died from cancer: How shared experience can lessen isolation. Mortality, 17(4), 338–354. doi: 10.1080/13576275.2012.730684
Haine, R. A., Ayers, T. S., Sandler, I. N., & Wolchik, S. A. (2008). Evidence-based practices for parentally bereaved children and their families. Professional Psychology, Research and Practice, 39(2), 113–121. doi: 10.1037/0735-7028.39.2.113
Harrington, R. (1996). Bereavement is painful but does not necessarily make children ill. British Medical Journal, 313, 822. doi: 10.1136/bmj.313.7060.822
Harrington, R., & Harrison, L. (1999). Unproven assumptions about the impact of bereavement on children. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 92(May), 230–232. doi: 10.1177/014107689909200504
Harrison, L., & Harrington, R. (2001). Adolescents’ bereavement experiences: Prevalence, association with depressive symptoms, and use of services. Journal of Adolescents, 24, 159–169. doi: 10.1006/jado.2001.0379
Heegaard, M. (1991). When someone very special dies: Children can learn to cope with grief. Minneapolis, MN: Woodland Press.
Hewison, A., Zafar, S., & Efstathiou, N. (2019). Bereavement Support in the UK– a rapid evidence assessment. Birmingham: Sue Ruder/University of Birmingham. Retrieved from www.sueryder.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/Sue%20Ryder%20Bereavement%20Support%20in%20the%20UK%20-%20University%20of%20Birmingham%20School%20of%20Nursing.pdf [accessed 29 July 2019].
Hindmarch, C. (1995). Secondary losses for siblings. Child: Care, Health, and Development, 21(6), 425–431.
Holland, J. (2001). Understanding children’s experiences of parental bereavement. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Irish Childhood Bereavement Network (2014). Irish Childhood Bereavement Care Pyramid. Retrieved from www.childhoodbereavement.ie/professionals/childhood-bereavement-care-pyramid [accessed 29 March 2015].
Jakobsen, I. S., & Christiansen, E. (2011). Young people’s risk of suicide attempts in relation to parental death: A population-based register study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52(2), 176–183. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02298.x
Katz, J. (2001). Introduction. In J.Hockey, J.Katz, & N.Small (Eds.), Grief, mourning and the death ritual (pp. 1–15). Buckingham: Open University Press.
Klass, D., Silverman, P. R., & Nickman, R. B. (1996). Continuing bonds: New understandings of grief. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.
Kobak, R., & Madsen, S. (2008). Disruptions in attachment bonds: Implications for theory, research, and clinical intervention. In J.Cassidy, & P. R.Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 23–47). New York: Guilford Press.
Lee, N. (2001). Childhood and society: Growing up in an age of uncertainty. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Li, J., Vestergaard, M., Cnattingius, S., Gissler, M., Bech, B. H., Obel, C., & Olsen, J. (2014). Mortality after parental death in childhood: A nationwide cohort study from three Nordic countries. PLoS Medicine, 11(7), e1001679. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001679
Lytje, M., & Dyregrov, A. (2019). The price of loss – a literature review of the psychosocial and health consequences of childhood bereavement. Bereavement Care, 38(1), 13–22. doi: 10.1080/02682621.2019.1580854
Mayall, B. (1999). Children and childhood. In S.Hood, B.Mayall, & S.Oliver (Eds.), Critical issues in social research (pp. 10–24). Buckingham: Open University Press.
McLaughlin, C., Lytje, M., & Holliday, C. (2019). Consequences of childhood bereavement in the context of the British school system. Winston’s Wish/University of Cambridge. Retrieved from www.winstonswish.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/COCB.pdf [accessed 26 July 2019].
McLoughlin, K. (2012). Establishing a children’s bereavement support network in Ireland: A scoping study. Dublin: Irish Hospice Foundation. Retrieved from www.researchgate.net/publication/310564130_Establishing_A_Children%27s_Bereavement_Support_Network_in_Ireland_A_Scoping_Study [accessed 26 July 2019].
Mellor, P. A. (1993). Death in high modernity: The contemporary presence and absence of death. In D.Clark (Ed.), The sociology of death (pp. 11–30). Oxford: Blackwell.
Melvin, D., & Lukeman, D. (2000). Bereavement: A framework for those working with children. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 5(4), 520–539. doi: 10.1177/1359104500005004007
Moran, P., & Ghate, D. (2005). The effectiveness of parenting support. Children and Society, 19, 329–336. doi: 10.1002/chi.878
Monroe, B. (2013). Unpublished interview recording, 9 April, 2013, with Jane Ribbens McCarthy and Jeanne Katz, Open University UK.
Monroe, B., & Kraus, F. (1996). Children and loss. British Journal of Hospice Medicine, 56, 260–264.
National Children’s Bureau (2019). Children’s funding slashed by a third per child leaving thousands at risk of falling into crisis. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2m3963G [accessed 29 July 2019].
Neimeyer, R. A. (2001). Meaning reconstruction and the experience of loss. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Neimeyer, R. A., Baldwin, S. A., & Gillies, J. (2006). Continuing bonds and reconstructing meaning: Mitigating complications in bereavement. Death Studies, 30(8), 715–738. doi: 10.1080/07481180600848322
NHS (2019). NHS Long term plan. Retrieved from www.longtermplan.nhs.uk [accessed 29 July 2019].
Oliviere, D. (2013). Unpublished interview recording, 9 April, 2013, with Jane Ribbens McCarthy and Jeanne Katz, Open University UK.
Parkes, C. M. (1975/2010). Bereavement: Studies of grief in adult life (4th ed.). London: Penguin.
Parkes, C. M. (1986). Bereavement: Studies of grief in adult life (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Parsons, S. (2011). Long-term impact of childhood bereavement: Preliminary analysis of the British Cohort Study. (BCS70) CWRC Working Paper. Retrieved from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181353/CWRCN00081N2011.pdf [accessed 31 May 2019].
Paton, N. (2004). Dreamcatcher: Supporting bereaved children. Nursing Times, 100(40), 24–25.
Pearce, C. (2019). The public and private management of grief: Recovering normal. London: Palgrave.
Pennells, M., & Smith, S. C. (1995). The forgotten mourners: Guidelines for working with bereaved children. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Penny, A. (2018). Preparing the way: Evaluating support for children and young people before the death of someone important to them. London: National Children’s Bureau. Retrieved from www.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/media/91314/Preparing-the-way.pdf [accessed 24 July 2019].
Penny, A. & Rice, H. (2012). Gaps in research. Retrieved from www.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/research/gaps-in-research.aspx [accessed 31 May 2019].
Penny, A., & Stubbs, D. (2015). Bereavement in childhood: What do we know in 2015? London: National Children’s Bureau.
Phillips, R., & Burt, M. (1999). Rachel House: An independent evaluation. The views of children, young people and families. Edinburgh: Children’s Hospice Association, Scotland.
Pollock, L. (1983). Forgotten children. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Potts, S., Farrell, M., & O’Toole, J. (1999). Treasure weekend: Supporting bereaved siblings. Palliative Medicine, 13, 51–56. doi: 10.1191/026921699668468396
Prout, A. (2000). Children’s participation: Control and self-realisation in British late modernity. Children and Society, 14, 304–315. doi: 10.1111/j.1099-0860.2000.tb00185.x
Qvortrup, J. (1994). Childhood matters: An introduction. In J.Qvortrup, M.Bardy, G.Sgritta, & H.Wintersberger (Eds.), Childhood matters: Social theory, practice and politics (pp. 1–24). Aldershot: Avebury.
Ribbens McCarthy, J., & Jessop, J. (2005). Young people, bereavement and loss: Disruptive transitions? London: National Children’s Bureau/Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Ribbens McCarthy, J. (2006). Young people’s experience of loss and bereavement: Towards an interdisciplinary approach. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Rolls, E. (2007a). Containing grief: Ambiguities and dilemmas in the emotional work of UK childhood bereavement services. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Gloucestershire.
Rolls, L. (2007b). Mapping evaluations of UK childhood bereavement services. Final report to the Clara Burgess Charity. Cheltenham: University of Gloucestershire.
Rolls, L. (2008). Helping children and families facing bereavement in palliative care settings. In S.Payne, J.Seymour, & C.Ingleton (Eds.), Palliative care nursing: Principles and evidence for practice (2nd ed., pp. 507–524). Buckingham: Open University Press.
Rolls, L. (2009). The ritual work of UK childhood bereavement services. In S.Earle, C.Komaromy, & C.Bartholomew (Eds.), Death and dying: A reader (pp. 175–183). London/Milton Keynes: Sage/Open University Press.
Rolls, L., & Payne, S. (2003). Childhood bereavement services: A survey of UK provision. Palliative Medicine, 17, 423–432. doi: 10.1191/0269216303pm776oa
Rolls, L., & Payne, S. (2004). Childhood bereavement services: Issues in UK provision. Mortality, 9(4), 300–328. doi: 10.1080/13576270412331329821
Rolls, L., & Payne, S. (2007). Children and young people’s experience of UK childhood bereavement services. Mortality, 12(3), 281–303. doi: 10.1080/13576270701430585
Rolls, L., & Payne, S. (2008). The voluntary contribution to UK childhood bereavement services: Locating the place and experiences of unpaid staff. Mortality, 13(3), 258–281. doi: 10.1080/13576270802181541
Romonoff, B. D., & Terenzio, M. (1998). Rituals and the grieving process. Death Studies, 22, 697–711. doi: 10.1080/074811898201227
Rowling, L. (2003). Grief in school communities: Effective support strategies. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Rowling, L., & Holland, J. (2000). Grief and school communities: The impact of social context, a comparison between Australia and England. Death Studies, 24(1), 35–50. doi: 10.1080/074811800200685
Rutter, M. (1966). Children of sick parents. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ryan, F. (2015). Mind the gap: How charities are mopping up after the government’s failure to care. New Statesman. Retrieved from www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/02/mind-gap-how-charities-are-mopping-after-government-s-failure-care [accessed 31 May 2019].
Simpson, M. (2018). Social rights, child rights, discrimination and devolution: Untangling the web. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 40(1), 3–20. doi: 10.1080/09649069.2018.1414201
Stokes, J. (2004). Then, now and always. Cheltenham: Winston’s Wish.
Stokes, J. (2009). Resilience and bereaved children. Bereavement Care, 28(1), 9–17. doi: 10.1080/02682620902746078
Stokes, J., & Crossley, D. (1996). Camp Winston: A residential intervention for bereaved children. In S.Smith, & M.Pennells (Eds.), Interventions with bereaved children (pp. 172–192). London: Jessica Kingsley.
Stokes, J., Pennington, J., Monroe, B., Papadatou, D., & Relf, M. (1999). Developing services for bereaved children: A discussion of the theoretical and practical issues involved. Mortality, 4(3), 291–307. doi: 10.1080/713685977
Stroebe, M., & Schut, H. (1999). The dual process model of coping with bereavement: Rationale and description. Death Studies, 23, 197–224. doi: 10.1080/074811899201046
Sweeting, H., West, P., & Richards, M. (1998). Teenage family life, lifestyles and life chances: Associations with family structure, conflict with parents, and joint family activity. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 12(1), 15–46. doi: 10.1093/lawfam/12.1.15
Thompson, F. (1995). ‘Where is dead?’ A study of bereaved children's questions to doctors. Unpublished MSc. thesis. University of Southampton.
United Nations. (1989). United Nations convention on the rights of the child. Geneva: United Nations.
Valentine, C. (2006). Academic constructions of bereavement. Mortality, 11(1), 57–78. doi: 10.1080/13576270500439274
Walter, T. (1994). The revival of death. London: Routledge.
Walter, T. (1996). A new model of grief: Bereavement and biography. Mortality, 1(1), 7–25. doi: 10.1080/713685822
Weakes, L. (2015). Improving mental health: Recognising the vital role of charities. The Kings Fund. Retrieved from www.kingsfund.org.uk/blog/2015/05/improving-mental-health-recognising-vital-role-charities [accessed 31 May 2019].
Wickham, S., Anwar, E., Barr, B., Law, C., & Taylor-Robinson, D. (2016). Poverty and child health in the UK: Using evidence for action. Archive of Diseases in Childhood, 101(8), 759–766. Retrieved from https://adc.bmj.com/content/101/8/759 [accessed 31 May 2019]. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2014-306746
Wilcox, H. C., Kuramoto, S. J., Lichtenstein, P., Långström, N., Brent, D. A., & Runeson, B. (2010). Psychiatric morbidity, violent crime, and suicide among children and adolescents exposed to parental death. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(5), 514–523.
Williams, J., Chaloner, J., Bean, D., & Tyler, S. (1998). Coping with loss: The development and evaluation of a children's bereavement project. Journal of Child Health Care, Summer, 2(2), 58–65. doi: 10.1177/136749359800200202
Worden, J. W. (1996). Children and grief: When a parent dies (3nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Worswick, J. (2000). A house called Helen: The development of hospice care for children. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Yule, W., & Gold, A. (1993). Wise before the event: Coping with crises in schools. London: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
