Long-Term Outcomes of Adolescent Sibling Bereavement

Abstract

The experience of sibling bereavement is relatively unexamined in the literature; the long-term effects of such an experience have received even less attention. In this study, grounded theory techniques for the analysis of qualitative data were used to analyze a series of intensive, semistructured interviews with 12 adults who, in their early adolescence, lost a sibling. Long-term outcomes included psychological growth, a sense of feeling different, and withdrawal from peers. The study presents a theoretic scheme relating these outcomes. The sense of personal growth and maturity arouses feelings of being different from peers, and may result in an intolerance of the developmentally appropriate behaviors demonstrated by peers. Some siblings respond to these feelings by withdrawing from their peers at a time when peer relationships are critical to completing developmental tasks. For such siblings, feelings of sadness and loneliness become long-term.