Protective Factors in the Context of Childhood Bereavement: Youth Gratitude, Future Orientation, and Purpose in Life.
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| Title: | Protective Factors in the Context of Childhood Bereavement: Youth Gratitude, Future Orientation, and Purpose in Life. |
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| Authors: | Giang, Christopher1 (AUTHOR) cgiang@umich.edu, Alvis, Lauren2 (AUTHOR), Oosterhoff, Benjamin2 (AUTHOR), Kaplow, Julie B.2,3 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Omega: Journal of Death & Dying. Jun2026, Vol. 93 Issue 2, p803-824. 22p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Adolescent development, *Self-evaluation, *Psychological resilience, *Separation anxiety, *Group identity, *Attitude (Psychology), *Grief, *Affect (Psychology), *Mental depression, Death & psychology, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Life, Cross-sectional method, Bereavement in children, Mental health, Research funding, Positive psychology, Multiple regression analysis, Questionnaires, Sex distribution, Age distribution, Posttraumatic growth, Classification of mental disorders, Descriptive statistics, Race, Psychological stress, Data analysis software, Psychosocial functioning, Psychosocial factors |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| Abstract: | The objective of the study was to examine potential associations between positive youth development constructs (gratitude, future orientation, purpose in life) and psychological functioning (posttraumatic stress symptoms, depressive symptoms, maladaptive grief reactions) among bereaved youth and test whether these associations vary by age. A diverse sample of 197 clinic-referred bereaved youth (56.2% female; M = 12.36, SD = 3.18; 36.1% Hispanic, 23.7% White, 20.1% Black, 11.9% Multiracial, and 8.2% another race/ethnicity) completed self-report measures of psychological functioning and positive youth development constructs. Linear regression models indicated that gratitude and purpose were associated with lower posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms among bereaved youth. Future orientation was associated with higher posttraumatic stress symptoms. Results were consistent across age. If replicated longitudinally, gratitude and purpose may be important protective factors against negative mental health outcomes in the aftermath of losing a loved one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Omega: Journal of Death & Dying is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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