Abstract
Factors Affecting Children’s Adjustment to the Death of a Parent: the Social Work Professional’s Viewpoint
Hope R M~~Hodge D M~~~
This study investigated factors affecting the adjustment of parentally bereaved children by reviewing existing literature & comparing it to observations made by professional social workers. 5 participants with between 1.5 & 22 years of experience in counselling bereaved children responded to an interview instrument which contained 7 in-depth open-ended questions. Respondents felt that sudden deaths, such as suicide, presented a more difficult adjustment task for children. Participants also upheld the consensus in the literature on the positive relationship between the adjustment of the remaining caregiver & the adjustment of the child. (15 refs.)