LIFE AFTER PARENTAL DEATH - MONITORING A CHILDS SELF-CONCEPT BEFORE AND AFTER FAMILY VIOLENCE

In a case study, the self-esteem of a first-grade child was monitored over an eight- month period, before and after she witnessed the death of her mother, who was shot by her father’s female friend. Through a series of telephone interviews with the child’s aunt, in whose care she was entrusted, it was suggested that the rapid rebound in the child’s self-evaluation was attributable to personal and social controls deriving from her initially high self-esteem and the readily available social support system of the aunt and the extended family, which provided an immediate induction of hope. The study serves as a model for monitoring the personal impact of other critical life events. © 1991 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.