Childhood Bereavement: The loss of a parent, grandparent or sibling can be very troubling in childhood. Childhood loss can predispose a child not only to physical illness but to emotional problems and an increased risk for suicide, especially in the adolescent period.

 

Loss of a Child: Loss of a child can take the form of a loss in infancy such as stillbirth or neonatal death, SIDS, or the death of an older child. In all cases, parents find the grief devastating and while persons may rate the death of a spouse as first in traumatic life events, the death of a child holds greater risk factors. 

 

Loss of a Spouse: The most common loss in our society of a loved one is that of the loss of a spouse: it is an expected change, particularly as we age. A spouse, though, often becomes part of the other in a unique way: many widows and widowers describe losing 'half' of themselves, and after a long marriage, at older ages, the elderly may find it a very difficult assimilation to begin anew.

 

Other Losses: Many other losses predispose persons to these same experiences, although often not as severely. Loss reactions may be toward the loss of a job, a pet, a home, children leaving home (empty nest), a favored appointment or desire, etc. While the reaction may not be as intense, experiences of loss may still show in these forms of bereavement.