Emotional Strategies for Coping with Bereavement of Parent by Teenagers in Nnewi, Anambra State of Nigeria

Abstract

This study aimed at finding out how teenagers cope with the bereavement of parent emotionally. Hopefully these teenagers will be empowered to adopt sustainable life styles after bereavement in the family. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. It used survey design and a sample of 393 (155 males and 238 females) aged between 12-19 years selected purposively from secondary schools in Nnewi Education Zone of Anambra State, Nigeria. The researcher-designed questionnaire “Coping with Bereavement of Parent by Teenagers (CBPT)” was validated and used for collecting data. The data was analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test. Some emotional coping strategies were identified. Age and gender did not make any significant differences in their choice of coping strategies. It was recommended that school counsellors expose bereaved teenagers to different strategies of coping emotionally with bereavement of parent and family living.  

Key words: Bereavement, Emotion, Teenagers, Parent, Coping, Counselling.