ABSTRACT
Although the sibling relationship is a rich and powerful one, research regarding the impact of sibling loss in adulthood is minimal. Given the importance of this specific relationship, with approximately 2 million people becoming bereaved siblings each year (Hogan & DeSantis, 1992), it is ironic that sibling death is one of the least investigated and understood adult crisis experiences (Hogan & DeSantis, 1992; Packman et al., 2006). Cicirelli (1991) has asserted that attachment, or the “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings” (Bowlby, 1969, p. 194) can be observed beyond the parent-child relationship to the siblings throughout old age. In fact, the sibling relationship is quite close to the mother-child relationship (Gold, 1989) and the loss can be shattering. It is clear that a sibling death at any age has a profound impact on surviving siblings.
