The Effect of Childhood Bereavement on Secondary School Performance.

This paper reports on a UK survey of GCSE examination results for children from schools throughout England who had lost a parent (n = 73) or sibling (n = 24) through death to establish whether this had a long-term impact on school performance, levels of anxiety and self-esteem, and school attendance. Participants were matched for school, age, gender and ethnicity, and a smaller group for socio-economic status. The Speilberger Anxiety and Coopersmith self-esteem inventories were administered alongside a customised family history questionnaire. Bereaved participants underachieved significantly depending upon age, gender, and parents' employment history. There was also a significant rise in anxiety among the parentally bereaved group. School attendance seemed unaffected. Childhood bereavement appears to be a robust factor in underachievement. The totality of the survey findings is discussed prospectively in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]