An Exploration of Grief Through the Lens of the Meaning Making Model of Coping: Amplifying Bereaved Black and African American Youth’s Voices

Abstract

Prior literature has focused on challenges experienced by youth following the death of their parent, but burgeoning research underscores the importance of also examining growth post-loss. Further, Black and African American youth have been historically excluded from the grief literature, despite experiencing high rates of parental death due to discriminatory systems of oppression and violence. Through the lens of the Meaning Making Model of Coping, the current study employed a constructive, phenomenological approach to inductive thematic analysis to explore the narratives of 15 parentally bereaved Black and African American youth (M_age = 13.07, SD = 2.22; 60% female) recruited from a grief therapy center in the Mid-South, United States. Five themes emerged: (1) Missing the Lost Parent, (2) Reconciling with Death, (3) Navigating Life after Loss, (4) No Positive Aspects Identified after Loss, and (5) Rebuilding after Death. Findings suggest that creating space for bereaved youth to openly discuss the death of their parent and the availability of engaged and safe adults were central to growth after loss. This study underscores the complexities of youth bereavement, discusses how the Meaning Making Model of Coping was seen through youth responses, and shows how youth derive meaning from the death of their parent.