Michelle Conti, Psy.D.
Incoming Class of 2008
Internship: Early Childhood Center Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University
September 2013 Conferral
Coping Strategies of School-Age Children Following Traumatic Grief Exposure
Chair: Thomas Demaria, Ph.D.
Limited empirical research focuses on the preferred coping styles of school-age children following a traumatic death. This study examined the coping styles of school-age children through an examination of messages left on memorial murals following three traumatic events including; the traumatically violent death of a peer, a natural disaster, and the death of a teacher’s newborn baby. A focus of the analyses was on the gender and the type of event leading to the traumatic loss. This study utilized archival data collected through consultations with schools carried out by a Trauma Response Team. As part of the consultation following each event, the Trauma Team examined murals created by the students that included messages to the deceased or messages related to the event. Student messages were coded into categories using the Demaria Coding Scheme (Demaria et al., in process). Murals that included 1,546 responses were examined. Results indicated that girls were more likely than boys to cope by leaving messages about their attachment bonds (compliments, special memory of interactions, degree of closeness), religious beliefs, emotions, hope for a better outcome ("silver lining") and desire to create a memorial. The study found that children in the sample affected by a natural disaster were more likely to use religious coping responses, exhibit a change in their worldview, and focus on details of the event. Both natural disasters and violent traumatic events, elicited a greater number of memorialization as well as attachment-focused responses. Finally, young children who were affected by a natural death were more likely to include compliments in their messages directed to the survivor of the loss. Implications of these findings in guiding bereavement interventions are presented.