Research Paper on:
Grief and Adolescence

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
and guidance in relation to grieving adults and children, there is considered to be an absence of programs in regards to teen services. Adolescent grief is considered different than that  of child and adult grief because of the mixed messages often given by the adolescents themselves in that many are trying to strive for independence yet still recognize that they  have some dependence on family members and others close to them. In addition, while adolescent grief is sometimes considered similar to that of adults, it is compounded with the additional  stresses experienced during adolescence. Because of this adolescents often handle their grief with different reactions from those experienced by younger children and older adults.  Linda Cunningham of TAG (Teen Age Grief), a national service to aid in the counseling of adolescents, states that adolescents "tell us that they need and expect our help  in providing them with food and a nurturing environment but also tell us, on the other hand, that they can run their lives on their own. Because people do not  always know how to respond to teens, they frequently back off, resulting in a teen who is left to grieve alone or with very limited support" (Cunningham, 1996). Teenagers experience  different types of life stresses in adolescence than those experienced in childhood or adulthood. The reactions and process an adult usually follows after the death of a loved one includes  high anxiety, denial, anger, remorse, grief and reconciliation (National, 1999). Adolescents however are already within a time in their lives when daily adjustments are found which cause stress already and  could include older brothers or sisters moving out of the house or getting married, divorce in the family, sexual abuse or molestation, an introduction to the dating process, an unexpected