Understanding Bereavement among College Students: Implications for Practice and Research

Abstract

The experience of losing a first-degree family member, followed by a second-degree family, and a close friend is prevalent among college students. Bereavement affects student success as they must balance grief and academics. Culture also influences the expression and experience of grief, making it essential to understand grief and bereavement in context. The recent COVID-19 global pandemic has exacerbated the experience of loss and grief among college students, which warrants a better understanding and intervention for disenfranchised grief. Social and emotional support for disenfranchised grief is not always provided, as this type of grief is often socially unsanctioned. The lack of support and understanding could make it difficult for individuals with disenfranchised grief to cope with the demands of higher education and bereavement process. Counseling implications for how universities and colleges could intervene on the bereaved student's behalf are discussed.

Margaret’s recovery way in Jacqueline Woodson’s Last Summer with Maizon: father death and writing opportunity

“…Changes in behavior can include changes in a person's life in the grief experience. Whether the child or adult is still grieving, it might affect the decline in academic performance in the form of low assignment grades and low performance at school (Bistricean & Shea, 2021;Elsner et al, 2022). It means that the academic abilities of someone who faced grief become concerned with the experience, which is still in their minds.…”