Date of Award

Fall 2024

Language

English

Embargo Period

8-22-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

College/School/Department

Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology

Program

School Psychology

First Advisor

David Miller

Committee Members

Callen Fishman, Andrew Petsche

Keywords

Bereavement, grief interventions, school mental health

Subject Categories

School Psychology

Abstract

Childhood bereavement is a critical national issue in the United States. Children and adolescents who experience the death of a significant person, such as a parent or sibling, are predisposed to a variety of negative risk factors and long-term implications across several domains, including academic and social-emotional functioning. Schools are in the unique position to offer free, accessible mental health services to grieving students. As such, it is vital that school mental health professionals have access to information about evidence- and school-based grief interventions. The current study is a systematic review of school-based grief interventions for students who have experienced the death of a loved one. In accordance with guidelines set forth by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, five databases and an ancestry method via citation searching were utilized to identify and retrieve studies. A total of 16 studies were included in the review. Findings indicate that 12 different names/types of interventions and seven different modalities are highlighted in the literature. Most of the studies identified exhibited significant methodological problems. Two interventions were found to have clinically and statistically significant results and two other interventions were found to have statistically significant results as well as a high degree of methodological rigor. Limitations, future research directions, and recommendations for practice are discussed.

License

This work is licensed under the University at Albany Standard Author Agreement.

Download

Share

COinS