Here and Now: An Evaluation of Barnardo's Trauma, Bereavement and Loss Service in Schools

In the United Kingdom it is estimated that 92% of young people will experience a bereavement of a 'close' relationship that includes family, friends and pets, before the age of 16 (Harrison & Harrington, 2001). In Scotland, a more recent survey found that 79% of secondary school pupils, aged 12 to 17 years, have experienced the death of someone important to them (Del Carpio, Rasmussen, & Paul, 2018).Bereavement during childhood is therefore a majority experience, yet whilst it may be a universal part of growing up, experiencing a death can also be a major life event that places a young person at increased risk of a range of negative outcomes. For example, it is suggested that bereaved young people are at greater risk of developing depressive symptoms (Harrison & Harrington, 2001), being abused (Cross, 2002) and teenage pregnancy (Sweeting, West, & Richards, 1998). Vulnerable populations of young people, such as those involved in offending, are also more likely than the general population to have experienced multiple, parental or traumatic bereavements (Finlay & Jones, 2000; Vaswani, 2008; Vaswani, 2014).