ABSTRACT
For the adolescent, death is an anathema. Everything emphasizes life, change, growth. His body’s development, the excitement of his developing thought processes, the enticing world of adulthood and power that is now so near: all these things make death seem impossible. The adolescent faces bereavement unwillingly, as though he has been assaulted by a confrontation with reality that has no place in his world. There are a great many developmental changes in adolescence which may bring their own levels of psychic upheaval. The stress of bereavement is superimposed upon these. Thus, to understand its impact, some review of this developmental period is essential, for it will be the background that influences grief and mourning. Conceptually, from a variety of theoretical
frameworks, there are several strands of biopsychosocial functioning to be considered:
1. Bodily changes such as growth in height, weight, and the development of secondary sexual characteristics require changes in body image and lead to a high level of concern with the self as these changes are accommodated gradually into the new self: “man” or “woman” rather than “boy” or “girl.”
