Poster #37 - An Exploration of Static and Malleable Factors Related to Resilience Among Bereaved Youth

• In Event: Poster Session 07

Abstract

The death of a loved one is one of the most distressing potentially traumatic events (PTEs) experienced by children and adolescents (Kaplow et al., 2010). Bereavement often results in somatic, academic, interpersonal, mental, and behavioral health challenges (Alvis et al., 2022; Revet et al., 2018). Less understood is how youth may show resilience following loss, as well as the risk and protective factors that may contribute to resilience (Griese et al., 2017). The current study examines how demographics (i.e., youth age and gender) and loss-related (i.e., time since loss, closeness to the deceased, expectedness of the loss) variables alongside exposure to additional PTEs beyond the death and use of emotion regulation strategies (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) are related to resilience among treatment-seeking bereaved youth. Participants included 106 bereaved youth (Mage=12.37 years, SD=2.59) of whom half (50.9%) self-identified as female. Approximately half (49.1%) identified as White, 42.5% were Black or African American, 6.6% were Biracial/Multiracial, 1% were American Indian or Alaskan Native, and 1% were Asian American. Further, 8.5% of youth were Hispanic. On average, youth reported the death of a loved one occurring 11.22 months prior to study participation (SD=9.18). Youth primarily expressed feeling extremely close (65.72%) or very close (24.76%) to their deceased loved one. Most youth (78.85%) reported the death as unexpected (e.g., due to accident or sudden illness). Youth had attended an average of 6.58 grief therapy sessions (SD=6.28) at the time of study participation. Regarding additional PTE exposure beyond the loss (M=3.04; SD=1.66), youth most frequently endorsed surviving a serious accident or witnessing someone being beat up, shot at, or killed in the community. A path analysis conducted in Mplus (Muthén & Muthén, 2017) examined relations between demographics, loss-related variables, exposure to additional PTEs, cognitive reappraisal strategy use, expressive suppression strategy use, and resilience. The overall model accounted for 32.6% of the variance in resilience. Having a female identity (Est.=-0.18, p=0.03), expecting the loss (Est.=-0.19, p=0.03), using more cognitive reappraisal strategies (Est.=0.24, p=0.01), and using less expressive suppression strategies (Est.=-0.36, p<.001) were associated with higher resilience. Age, time since loss, closeness to the deceased, number of grief therapy sessions attended, and exposure to additional PTEs were not significantly related to resilience. Results show the importance of assessing positive functioning among bereaved youth, as well as a variety of risk and protective mechanisms. Loss is often framed as a harmful experience resulting in maladaptive functioning; however, it is essential to take a strengths-based approach to reduce stigma and highlight bereaved youths’ resilience amidst loss. Given that findings identified a significant association between emotion regulation strategies and resilience, grief-focused interventions for youth may benefit from psychoeducation regarding the importance of expressing emotions openly as well as strategies to reframe negative perspectives regarding the loss. Future research should examine potential longitudinal relations to better understand changes in functioning over time.

Authors

• Lacy Ellen Jamison, University of Memphis
  Presenting Author

• Kathryn H Howell, University of Memphis