BEREAVEMENT RESPONSES OF KIBBUTZ AND NON‐KIBBUTZ CHILDREN FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF THE FATHER

Abstract

SUMMARY: This article examines the comparative prevalence of grief reactions, behavioral symptoms and ‘pathological bereavement’ in 25 kibbutz and 21 non‐kibbutz children aged between 3 1/2 and 11 1/2 yr eighteen months after the death of the father in war. The findings indicate that in both kibbutz and urban settings the loss of a father becomes a serious traumatic situation for a large proportion of the children, influencing multiple areas of functioning and causing manifold behavioral symptoms. The particular differences regarding the quality of the reactive symptoms exhibited by kibbutz and non‐kibbutz children appear to be related to the different socio‐cultural surrounding influences.