Shared life space and sibling bereavement responses

The purpose of this study was to examine the predeath relationship between siblings as a variable relating to bereavement response in the surviving siblings following the death of a child from cancer. The findings derive from the analysis of data from two studies. The original project analyzed data obtained from 34 children 6 to 16 years of age, who were closest in age to a sibling who had died from cancer. The second study analyzed the data pertaining to all of the siblings in the same families. The data were obtained from the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist completed by the mothers and from a Closeness Index developed from interviews with the families. No significant differences were found between the behavior score means in the two samples, indicating that closeness in age was not related to behavior responses during bereavement. In both samples, there was a trend for scores on the Closeness Index to predict Internalizing Behavior. The Closeness Index, however, may not accurately measure the concept of emotional closeness between siblings, and it is this aspect of shared life space that the interview data suggest is of importance in sibling bereavement. Further examination of emotional closeness is warranted