Bereavement and Spiritual Change Essay Example for Free

Bereavement and Spiritual Change Essay This article aims to determine the causal connection between bereavement and a persons decision to effect changes in his spirituality. It is the position of the author that â€Å"bereavement is a life crisis that challenges ones assumptions about human existence and provides the grounds for spiritual change† (Balk, 1999). Methods. To test the hypothesis, the author chose some case examples that illustrate the causal connection between bereavement and spiritual change. These stories show how an extreme life crisis could lead a person to lose hope in life or change his worldview altogether (Balk, 1999). Results. The author concluded that the case studies mentioned in the article show how bereavement, a specific life crisis, could trigger spiritual change in people. He cites â€Å"psychological imbalance or disequilibrium†, which needed a process of reflection to help one stabilize the imbalance. The author likewise concludes that the spiritual change that occurs after bereavement is a result of a person’s spending time in both the loss orientation and the restoration orientation† (Balk, 1999). Baker, J.E. , Sedney, M. A. Gross, E. (1992). Psychological Tasks for Bereaved Children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 62(1), 105-116. Purpose. This article is an expository work on the grief process of children. More specifically, it discusses the different stages of the grief process, as illustrated by various models of the process put forward by different scholars (Baker, Sedney Gross, 1992). Methods. This article simply gathered literature on the subject of the grief process of bereaved children. It focused on time-specific tasks that a grieving person should accomplish in order to progress within the grief process. The article likewise provided a case example with a corresponding discussion of how the case illustrated the needs of a grieving child (Baker, Sedney Gross, 1992). Results. The article concluded with a discussion of the implications of using a time-specific model of therapy for bereaved children. It teaches how an assessment at the beginning of the therapy of the accomplished tasks could allow the therapist to determine the next steps for the child. It also pointed out that there is a need for a complete and detailed history of the circumstances or events surrounding the death of a loved one. Such detailed history would be very helpful in predicting obstacles that could be present during the childs bereavement process (Baker, Sedney Gross, 1992). Cooper, C. A. Children’s Dreams During the Grief Process. Purpose. This article focuses on one specific aspect of the grief process in children, namely, dreams. It is based on the theory that dreaming is a therapeutic process, or a way for children to express their feeling of loss and heal. This article aims to determine whether there is an increased frequency of dreaming among grieving children, for a positive answer to this query would support the position that children help in healing themselves after experiencing loss (Cooper). Methods. A total of 272 student- participants were selected from a suburban elementary school. These children belong to the fourth and fifth grades. Out of these students, random selection was made and parental consent was sought. Finally, the number was eventually scaled down to only 39 students composed of both grieving and non-grieving children. After data collection through interviews, data was analyzed through â€Å"a chi-square test procedure, using the Yates correction (Cooper). Results. Data gathered and analyzed led to the conclusion that grieving children had greater dream recall than the other group of non-grieving children. it is believed that this manifests a child’s subconscious effort to heal. Dreams are potentially good venues for children to express their feelings of loss and grief. Thus, while there is dearth in literature dealing with grief and dreams, dream work remains a possible approach for dealing with grieving children (Cooper). Ens, C. Bond, Jr. , J. B. (2005). Death Anxiety and Personal Growth in Adolescents Experiencing the Death of a Grandparent. Death Studies 29, 171-178. Purpose. This article is about the experience by adolescents of the death of a grandparent, including the attendant death anxiety. It recognizes that every person would have a different kind of established relationship with his grandparent, and assumes that some grandparents have a significant influence in the lives of the younger generations in the family. Thus, this article aimed to determine the relationship, if any, between death anxiety and the bereavement process for adolescents (Ens Bond, Jr. , 2005). Methods. Participants in the study consisted of adolescent students from private schools in Canada who experienced the death of a grandparent(s). They were given pen-and-paper questionnaires, which were used to measure death anxiety, using the â€Å"revised Death Anxiety Scale (RDAS)† (Ens Bond, Jr. , 2005). Results. The study showed the relationship between bereavement, death anxiety, many other demographic factors, such as personal growth and gender. Some demographic factors, such as gender, appeared to be non-related to death anxiety among adolescents. However, the authors are not satisfied with the results, for they feel that many other relevant factors, such as ethnicity and socioeconomic status, are left unexplored (Ens Bond, Jr. , 2005). Hass, J. K. Walter, T. (2007). Parental Grief in Three Societies: Networks and Religion as Social Supports in Mourning. OMEGA 54(3), 179-198.