PARENT BEREAVEMENT STRESS AND PREVENTIVE INTERVENTION FOLLOWING THE VIOLENT DEATHS OF ADOLESCENT OR YOUNG-ADULT CHILDREN

It is currently believed that effective intervention programs can redu ce the negative consequences stressful life events. The purpose of thi s paper is to describe a three-step process used to develop a theory-b ased preventive intervention for parents whose 12- to 28-year-old chil dren had died 2 to 7 months previously by accident, homicide, or suici de. Assumptive world, family life cycle, victimization, and social sup port theories form the basis for ''matching'' parent bereavement stres s with selected intervention strategies.