DOCUMENTARY
Project Outline...
A child burying their parents is almost always inevitable but something no one ever wants to experience. The entire process is painful with many unexpected turns and everyone handles it in their own way. The documentary will focus on college students losing their parents. Looking into what happened, the hardships of the grieving process, and how they are doing now.
Included Elements...
1
What Happened
Beginning with asking each person to describe their loved one who passed away. Sharing stories and memories. Then moving into what happened and ultimately caused the death of the person.
2
Grieving Process
Asking each person to describe how the process was for them. Where they were when they heard the news, what they felt at that moment, and all the feelings that continued in the days and months following the death.
3
How They are Doing Now
Reaching out to see how they are doing now. If they are doing anything to remember their loved ones, traditions they have continued, and what they do or have seen that make them remember their loved one.
Research...
Below are resources used to compile background knowledge on the topic of the documentary.
Parent Loss Statistic for College Students:
According to College Parents of America, for every two years of college, 1.7% of students can expect a parent to pass away. This statistic is roughly equilvalent to 360,000 college students in the United States in a two year period.
Prolonged Grief Disorder:
PGD is characterized as persistent symptoms of grief lasting beyond 6 months. Consequences of PGD for college students include lack of concentration, focus, motivation, sleep difficulties, isolation from family and friends, suicidal ideation, poor grades, dropping out, anxiety, depression, and chronic illness. PGD can persist for years without proper intervention.
Grief Impacts Academic Performance:
A recent study by a Purdue University researcher found that college students who experience the death of a family member or friends also experience a corresponding drop in academic performance during the semester the loss takes place.
Bereavement:
Bereavement is the experience of losing someone important to the person who experienced the loss. This process is characterized by grief which is the name given to describe the process and range of emotions experienced while processing the loss.
Grief Puts The Entire Body At Risk:
In the short term, neurology assures us that loss will trigger physical distress. In the long-term, grief puts the entire body at risk. Studies have found links between unresolved grief, hypertension, cardiac events, immune disorders, and cancer.
College Students Are Effected in Several Areas By Grief:
Grief and bereavement affects students holistically, impacting their emotional, cognitive, physical, social, and spiritual/religious state. These impacts make it extremely important for university faculty and administration to recognize the frequency of grief on campus.