Chapter 8: College Students' Meaning Making Following Significant Loss

The college years are a time of substantial transition. Although much of this change is positive, it is also often marked by loss and concomitant grief. For example, college students may experience loss of the familiar, the comforting, or the beloved, including moving from home, changing or ending relationships, and, frequently, encountering bereavement, often for the first time (Balk, Walker, & Baker, 2010). Loss experiences are quite common and can be quite distressing (Gold et al., 2005). In addition, the distress and life disruptions that students experience following significant losses can seriously interfere with their abilities to successfully function academically as well as personally (Pennebaker, Mayne, & Francis, 1997). Thus, faculty, administrators, and others who work with college students must be aware not only of the prevalence of losses amongst college students but also the disruptions such losses bring and the processes through which students may recover (Neimeyer et al., 2008; Park, 2008).