Barn som mister foreldre

Abstract

Around 4% of children in the Western world lose a parent before they reach 18 years of age. The loss is associated with increased mortality for children, especially when losing their mother. In addition, it leads to psychic distress for a majority of children and complicated grief reactions in a substantial minority. Parental loss is associated with an increase in risk behaviour, self-mutilation, and negative health consequences, all of which last into adult age. It is hard to discriminate between normal and complicated grief, and the research conducted on adults may not be appropriate for young people. Intervention for all is not recommended based on available studies. In the last decade, effective grief- and trauma-specific treatments for children have been developed.