PARENTAL MOURNING AND CHILDRENS BEHAVIOR

This article alerts professionals to sibling death as a possible reaso n for behaviors exhibited by young clients. Aside from their own grief , children are affected by parental mourning over a child's death and accompanying changes in the family environment, Children show their di stress in a variety of behaviors, some of which appear to be unrelated to the loss. Four areas of concern are presented with case illustrati ons: cognitive distortions, reactions to parents' distress and preoccu pation with the loss, being a replacement child and effects of parents ' failure to work through their grief. Suggestions for helping childre n and parents include using a genogram for identifying loss, helping t he family talk about the death, and providing a support group for chil dren.