Differences in posttraumatic growth and grief reactions among adolescents by relationship with the deceased

Aim. The aim of this study was to examine three hypotheses: (1) adolescents who had experienced the death of a parent would report higher grief reactions than those who had lost a grandparent; (2) adolescents who experienced the death of a parent would report higher posttraumatic growth than those who had lost a grandparent; and (3) posttraumatic growth and grief reactions are positively associated. Background. To date, no study has investigated adolescents’ posttraumatic growth by their relationship with the deceased. Design. Cross-sectional web-based survey. Methods. Participants were adolescents who had experienced the death of a parent or grandparent in the last 5 years. Participants completed the Japanese version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and grief reaction items. We conducted a web-based survey during January 2014. We used Pearson product-moment correlations to examine the association between each Posttraumatic Growth Inventory domain and each grief reaction item. Differences in the relationship with the deceased for each Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and grief reaction item were compared with an independent-sample t-test. Results. Participants (n = 124) reported grief reactions including ‘I began to get frustrated at the little things’ (43 5%), ‘It was difficult to go to school’ (41 1%) and ‘I was not able to sleep at night’ (33 9%). The independent t-test indicated that parentally bereaved adolescents reported higher posttraumatic growth and grief reactions than those who had lost a grandparent. Pearson’s bivariate analysis showed an association between grief reactions and posttraumatic growth. Conclusion. Parentally bereaved adolescents reported higher posttraumatic growth and grief reactions. Nurses should ensure bereaved adolescents receive appropriate support.