Themes in the Bereavement Experience of Inner City Adolescents

PROBLEM: There is a lack of information about the bereavement experiences of adolescents living in poverty in the inner city. SUBJECTS: Eight bereaved adolescents (mean age = 13.5 girls, 3 boys), from poverty-level families, attending an inner city junior high school. METHODS: A descriptive design, using participant-observation in a semi-structured group setting, data were gathered using audiotape recordings of the eight group discussions. FINDINGS: Chaos and stress were major themes pervading each discussion session. Lack of family and social support, fear for their future, and avoidance as the major coping strategy were also themes of the study. CONCLUSIONS: Inner city adolescents need to be assessed for loss of significant others. Provision of mental health services in schools could provide intervention services to current and future problems.