When a parent dies: A scoping review of protective and risk processes for childhood bereavement

Abstract

The death of a parent can have profound effects on child development. Yet, little is known about the individual and environmental processes that contribute to heterogeneity in child bereavement outcomes. A scoping review was conducted in samples of parentally bereaved children to identify key processes, synthesize results, and determine research gaps. This scoping review identified 23 studies (mainly from the United States), published between 1990 and 2023, that reported child (ages 3–22 years) individual and/or environmental protective and/or risk processes that contributed to bereavement outcomes. Individual processes (i.e., how children manage stressors and think about themselves/their environment) included child coping and perception of themselves and/or their environment. Environmental processes (i.e., contextual resources) included family, mentorship, and stress exposure. Findings can be used to apprise clinicians, families, and policymakers of the unique nature of childhood bereavement and to identify malleable processes to target in interventions designed to prevent problematic outcomes in bereaved children.