The death of a close family member is a profound insult to a childs developmental course. Though early research assumed that childhood bereavement was a risk factor for mental and behavioral disorders in childhood and adult life, recent research has taken an ecological view of childhood development and considers a childs exposures to risk and protective factors. Yet, it remains unclear as to how many children are affected by the death of a close family member each year and how peer support groups can help children to adapt to such an adverse event. This dissertation represents three distinct stages in the development of a comprehensive evaluation for an agency that provides a peer support service for bereaved children and their families.
First, a primary question that arose during initial consultations with the agency was to determine how many children are affected annually within Pennsylvania. This led to an exploration of the epidemiology of childhood bereavement. The methods and data sources used to produce these estimates were critically evaluated and modified to offer a new interpretation of available data.
Second, it was important to identify constructs that could be used in an outcomes evaluation of the peer support program. Focus groups were used to explore the perceived benefits of attending peer support groups among caregivers and teens who had attended a spring session at the center. The intention to use focus groups was to increase the validity of constructs and, ultimately, the results of an outcomes evaluation.
Third, after identifying evaluation constructs a feasibility study was conducted to pilot an outcomes evaluation instrument. The study involved 30 families who attended the spring 2007 sessions at the center. Results suggested that peer support programs can improve childrens coping efficacy while helping to improve their caregivers perception of social support. The program also improved both children and caregivers sense that they are not alone in their grief.
As demonstrated in this dissertation, including the loss of siblings and primary caregiving grandparents in prevalence estimates of childhood bereavement and applying resilience theory to peer support research is of public health relevance.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04052008-145515 |
| Date | 25 June 2008 |
| Creators | Hulsey, Eric G |
| Contributors | Janet Catov, Diane J. Abatemarco, Jessica G. Burke, Edmund M. Ricci |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04052008-145515/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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