In this paper, we will investigate the ways in which the passing of a close family member has an effect not only on the remaining members of the family but also on the dynamic of the family unit as a whole. The passing of a parent, the passing of a spouse, the passing of a child, and the passing of a sibling are all going to be analyzed and contrasted with one another in order to determine the unique effects that each of these traumatic events has on the surviving members of the family. It was found that elements such as age, gender, and one’s relationship to the person who passed away are significant predictive factors in how an individual deals with the loss of a loved one.

After the death of a family member, the structure of the family must be reformed, but the manner in which families approach this reorganization varies greatly from one another. The manner in which the family is reorganized following a death has a significant bearing on the ability of the family to carry on with its daily activities. Finding out how individuals and family units grieve the death of a member of their immediate family and analyzing the distinctions between the two can lead to a better knowledge of which grief processes are the most helpful.

Amber Glatt is currently in her first year as an undergraduate student at MacEwan University, where she is majoring in Sociology and concentrating on the areas of youth, family, and diversity. Amber aspires to one day work with families and young people, and she is looking forward to the opportunity to collaborate with a wide variety of family structures in the service of fostering more positive and healthy home settings.

The loss of a loved one is an important and devastating event in one’s life that almost everyone will go through at some point in their lives. In fact, the majority of people will lose at least one loved one during their lifetime. The passing of a member of the family has a significant effect on the other members of the family who are still alive. Because each death is singular in its own manner, the people who experience it should have varying reactions to it. There are also significant individual differences among the members of the family who have survived; hence, these individual qualities ought to influence how individuals are affected by the loss and how they grieve for it.

This also means that different members of the family should grieve the loss in their own unique ways, and as a result, they should expect diverse consequences. When looking at families as a whole, it is obvious that there are significant disparities amongst families; hence, there should be differences in the ways in which family units cope with the death of a member. The manner in which a family and each of its members grieves for a deceased member is influenced not only by the circumstances surrounding the death but also by the traits of the individual who is left behind. Within the context of the passing of an immediate family member, consideration will be given to a number of aspects, including the individual’s age, gender, relationship to the deceased, the manner in which they passed away, and the composition of the family.