The document discusses adolescent grief and development following the death of a loved one. It notes that while adolescents experience grief similarly to adults, their cognitive abilities and defenses lead to different outward expressions of grief. Their grief may be masked by behaviors like acting out, substance abuse, or eating disorders as they seek support. Losses are so difficult for adolescents that they can only endure strong emotions briefly before distancing themselves, leading their grief to be unrecognized at times. The death of a parent during this identity-development period can be especially challenging.

1. Life Span Research: Adolescent Stage
Prepared by: Philip G Ng

3. Introduction:
 The adolescent years may be dubbed as
the transition period of human beings.
They are at the so-called awkward stage, as
being neither a child nor an adult.
 They are faced with situations and
experiences that improve their confidence,
test the firmness of their value, and even
alter their perception on certain things.

4. Introduction:
 It is but right to stay that during these
years, we get a taste of hardships in life,
thus preparing us for a great journey
ahead.
 what if fate dictates that one gets
separated from his loved one because of
sudden unexpected death?
 What impact can this event bring about to
adolescents life?

5. While children and adolescents must progress
through the same bereavement tasks as adults,
their unique psychological defenses and
cognitive and emotional development affect
their expression of grief.
Issues:
The death of a loved one takes a considerable
emotional toll on normally-functioning adults, but
the effects are typically more pronounced in
adolescents, as "coping with death and grief is
not a normative life transition for an
adolescent".

6. It is also noted that in the search for one’s own
identity and reevaluating parental values, an
adolescent’s newly developed cognitive
capacities are challenged to take into account
of the inevitability of death.
Issue
Noppe and Nope (1991, 1996) have suggested
that adolescent understanding of death could
be influenced by ambiguities or tensions
arising from biological, cognitive, social, and
emotional factors.

7. Outline
Parental
Death
The loss of a mother or the loss of a
father — is one of the most emotional
and universal human experiences.
The loss of a parent is grief-filled and
traumatic, and it informs and changes
children biologically and
psychologically.

8. Outline
Parental
Death
The death of a parent during
adolescence can be especially difficult
to cope with. Parents typically
function as safe, supportive figures
who sustain, regulate affect, and
repair aspects of the self. Without this
support, adolescents may struggle
with the formative process developing
a strong sense of self.

9. Outline
Parental
Death
“These factors do affect the ability to accept
and process grief.” Studies have also
shown that loss of a father is more associated
with the loss of personal mastery — vision,
purpose, commitment, belief, and self-
knowledge. Losing a mother, on the other
hand, elicits a more raw response. “Many
people report feeling a greater sense of loss
when a mother dies,” Manly says. “This can
be attributed to the often close, nurturing
nature of the mother-child relationship.”

10. Outline
Sibling
Death
Siblings play a crucial role in identity
development, a process that is of particular
importance during adolescence. After the
death, bereaved siblings tend to examine
their lives and maintain bonds with the
deceased not only by treasuring his or her
memory, but also by continuing the
relationship; many bereaved adolescents
report feeling like their deceased siblings are
"still with them" or are "watching over them".

11. Outline
Friend or
Peer Death Peers play a central role in the development
of an adolescent's identity and self-esteem,
and the loss of a friend can be devastating. A
common sentiment reported by teens who
have lost peers is that the peer was too young
to have died.

12. Outline
Adolescent can
be isolated
from their grief
As adolescents become more independent,
they also may become less comfortable in
seeking support from parents or other adults.
This is the time where the individual is
continually coping to adjust with the
problems and issues that my trigger many
different emotions that may affect the
person’s stability (Schneider, 2009).

13. Outline
Adolescent are more
likely to turn to the
internet and social
media as they cope
with loss
Adolescents are digital natives -- at home
with technology, while most adults are digital
immigrants. Adolescents go online for
information and utilize a variety of forms of
social media for support and opportunities to
memorialize.

14. Outline
Adolescent is often a
time of spiritual
questioning
Adolescents challenge the beliefs that have
been taught in childhood. Part of the
development of identity during adolescence is
asking, "What is it that I believe?" In a time of
spiritual questioning, grieving adolescents
may not be able to rely on their faith as
strongly as they did as children, or as strongly
as they may again in adulthood.

15. Outline
Adolescents grief
may be masked by
other behavior
Acting out behaviors, substance abuse, and
eating disorders may all be ways that the
adolescent copes with loss and seeks support.

16. Outline
Intellectual
development of
Adolescents
At twelve (12) to sixteen (16) years old,
abstract thinking is already developed. This is
the time wherein individuals are able to think
scientifically and philosophically.
Adolescents are capable of organizing realistic
plans for the future and are able to
comprehend lives past events (Elkind, 1971 in
Manaster, 1989).
In the same manner, Cole (1965) believes that
adolescents have the ability to know the
deeper meaning of situations.

17. Mr. Lawrence Guevara
Constructive Feedback:
 Interesting topic, open for further
research
 Need to include experiences to
Philippine settings
 Latest statistical data of the topic
 Elaborate more on the impact on
developmental factors (i.e. on emotions,
physical etc.

18. 1. 2
.
Losses are so painful and
frightening that many adolescents
are able to endure strong
emotions for only brief periods—
alternately approach and avoid
their feelings so as not to be
overwhelmed. Because these
emotions may be expressed as
angry outbursts or misbehavior,
rather than as sadness, they may
not be recognized as grief-related.
Reactions that teenager display in
response to a loss are similar to
those observed in adults, the time
frame and overt process of
grieving in young people are
clearly different. Because of
developmental differences in their
cognitive abilities and personality
structures, children are likely to
use more primitive defense
mechanisms than adults in coping
with their losses. These
differences put adolescent at
substantial psychological risk after
the death of a family member.
Conclusion

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Krisch, Joshua A. (2019, November 11). The Death of a Parent Affects Even Grown Children
Psychologically and Physically. Retrieved from www.fatherly.com
Robin, Leslie and Omar, Hatim, (2014) Adolescent Bereavement. Retrieved from
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Reference