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Bereavement Through the Lifespan

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Bereavement Through The Lifespan
By: Sandra Stemberga
For: PSY 210 Lifespan Development Wednesday

In it’s most simplest, bereavement is defined as the process of grieving and letting go of a loved one who has died. Bereavement is defined as being deprived of someone by death for our purposes. Bereavement can also accompany the loss of a job or a relationship but I will be focusing on the loss of a loved one. At some point during our lifespan, we all will be faced with the passing of a family member, friend or pet. Bereavement has many stages and is handled differently at different points of time within our development stage. A young child will experience this passing differently than an elderly person. What differentiates the process are the skill sets that each individual has in their “toolbox”.
I will be addressing these coping skills and developmental milestones in several grouped categories to show the differences and the similarities amongst the different age groups.

Children 3-5 years old
A child in this age category is focused primarily on his/herself. They have difficulty seeing the world from someone else’s point of view. This is called being egocentric. With this in mind, when faced with the death of someone close to them, they feel that they are the cause of the death. Emotions at this stage of development can vary from sadness, anger, anxiety and guilt. If the death was the result of a disaster or crisis, the child may feel abandoned and their participation in age-appropriate activities may be interrupted.

Children 6-12 years old
Children at this stage are learning basic skills and they are also in the process of attaching their cultural values to it. When faced with a death, the child in this age group may not want to leave home and in doing so, he/she hopes to reassure the safety of others in the family. The grief

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