Losing a sister or a brother is painful to experience for a child. It can cause deep sad emotions, and the consequences can last for a long time.
The death of one child may be very hard for another. Children’s bonds are amazing and genuine. They play together, eat together, and sometimes, sleep together. Kids go to school together, and they practically spend so much time together. That is why, losing a sibling is a hard experience for a family, especially a child.
JAMA Pediatrics conducted a study related to that. They observed children in Denmark and Sweden from 1973 to 2013. The researchers found out that 55,000 of them had gone through the painful experience of losing a sibling. Within that span of 37 years, the researchers were shocked by the findings. The study showed that these children whose had experienced the death of a sibling had a 70% likelihood of dying, too.
It is interesting to note that the risk of death was extremely high only on the first year of mortality. Within this span of time, a child who had lost a brother or a sister only has a mortality rate of two and a half compared to other kids.
IT IS MORE THAN JUST EMOTIONAL, SAYS THE STUDY
Researchers cite several factors on the causes of these deaths. They say that one of the reasons is genetics. The findings showed that most of the children who died from the same family died of the same disease.
The study also discovered that emotional stress also led to the deaths of the children. Some of these kids go through depression. They refuse to eat and have a hard time living their lives. Some kids also refuse to go to school or go out to play.
These warning signs should not be taken lightly. Parents should keep a close eye on kids who act this way as this can lead to bigger problems.
These factors all lead to the child’s poor holistic health. More than just the emotional aspect, the child’s physical, mental, and psychological health are also affected. Health care professionals see that these behaviors often lead to permanent social and behavioral problems.
Because children are not yet capable of handling their emotions, they become very much affected that the devastating consequences linger. In fact, that grief can last for a decade. If not paid attention to, the worse can happen.
A study conducted in 1990 discovered that female children were more affected by the death of their sibling, most especially a sister. Female children showed high levels of anxiety and are often diagnosed with other psychological problems.
With this knowledge, parents are all called to pay a lot of time, attention, and care to their children, most especially those who went through a tough time losing a sibling. The research hopes to shed light to all parent’s to make their utmost effort in helping their children recover from the loss. Parents are encouraged to monitor their children for them to overcome the effects of loss.