A World That Recognises, Validates, and Supports Young People's Grief: A Co‐Designed Study

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Grief in young people is a public health challenge, yet little is known about adolescents' and young adults' views on grief support. Young people with lived experience of grief co‐designed all aspects of the project.

Methods

Via a youth‐led design, we engaged a Youth Advisory Committee and conducted 10 workshops with 42 young people aged 14–24 years (M _age = 20.3, SD = 3.0) where they were asked about their views on grief literacy and to create scenarios to depict a grief literate world.

Results

Thematic analysis was used to develop five themes about the importance, definition, components, and examples of grief literacy, and how to disseminate grief literacy.

Conclusions

For young people, grief literacy means knowing about grief, showing support to grieving people, and being caring and compassionate to themselves and others. Findings show a range of losses is important to young people such as the death of a close person or pet, parents' divorce, job loss, life transitions, relationship break‐ups, identity changes, and world crises. Young people want to be listened to and have their grief normalised and validated. They do not like outdated ideas about stages of grief, clichés, and unsolicited advice.

So What?

Working with young people helped us to understand that young people want structured ways to learn about grief, including how to talk about it, ways to get support, how to help a grieving peer, and how to feel less isolated and alone. These findings are important to create a world that recognises, validates, and supports young people's grief.

1. Introduction

Supporting grieving young people is a public health challenge and ‘the last taboo in public health’ ([1], p. e647). Young people experience grief much more commonly than most people realise. A population‐based study in Scotland showed that, by the age of 10 years, around 60% of children are bereaved by the death of a family member, such as a parent, sibling, grandparent, or other close person [2]. Although there are no national Australian statistics, it is estimated that 1 in 11 children in the United States experiences the death of a parent or sibling by the end of high school (https://judishouse.org/research‐tools/cbem/). About one‐third of Australian university students report a close person having died within the previous year [3]. Young people also identify pet deaths and non‐death losses such as parents' divorce as important to them [4, 5].

Grief is the normal, dynamic, and multifaceted response to loss that is unique to each young person [6]. It is also linked to substantial negative psychological, physical, educational, and employment outcomes. Grieving young people experience an increased risk of anxiety and depression [7, 8], substance use [9], self‐harm and suicide attempts [10], poorer physical health [11], and reductions in educational attainment [12] and employment outcomes [13].

Despite these findings, grieving young people are unlikely to receive effective support. In general, grief is commonly an avoided topic of conversation [14], especially with children and adolescents [15], and bereaved children have unanswered questions about death and grief [16]. Young people report barriers to accessing support such as long waitlists, treatment fees, lack of knowledge about grief, and not knowing how to talk about grief or find support [4]. Where grieving youth have access to face‐to‐face or online psychotherapy, cognitive behaviour therapy appears to be the most effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression [4, 5]. However, grief is typically overlooked when young people seek mental health support [17]. The UK Commission on Bereavement [18] highlighted that half of the young people surveyed did not have access to services they wanted. Parents, too, report that grieving young people's support from their peers, schools/universities, and services could be improved [19].

Further, the co‐creation of research with adolescents and young people on their grief experiences and needs is near‐absent from published research about grief. Ross et al. [20] attempted to include young people's perspectives via a Delphi study on how best to provide help to bereaved adolescents. However, the items were generated by adults from academic literature and researcher‐led interviews with adolescents, rather than by young people themselves. Further, although the 49 panellists comprised 18 helping professionals, 16 bereaved adolescents and 14 parents/guardians, the small group numbers prevented group comparisons, meaning that adolescent views were combined with the views of others. Finally, the study overlooked pet deaths and non‐death losses that studies designed with young people as co‐researchers have identified as important to young people [4, 5].

Involving young people in research about grief interventions helps to identify what works for them and why and is essential to make a real difference for their wellbeing [4]. This is because research designed in collaboration with adults and youth with lived experience increases the relevance of and engagement with interventions, and informs best practice [21]. We aimed to work with adolescents and young adults to understand their views on grief literacy, which is a new public health concept defined as ‘the capacity to access, process, and use knowledge regarding the experience of loss’ [22, p.427]. The concept of grief literacy informs the transitional bereavement care model [23] and explicitly is the foundation of the European grief model [24]. However, exploring its potential applicability to specific groups (e.g., young people) requires authentic partnerships between researchers and these communities [22]. We therefore planned to use a youth‐led design to explore whether the concept of grief literacy resonated with young people and how it might be used to promote improved support offered to grieving young people.

2. Method

Youth collaboration was central to the study design, which was informed by a participatory and critical epistemology that centres the lived experience of young people [25]. Co‐design processes result in findings that resonate with the target population; reflect their needs, terminology, cultures, and contexts; and are more relevant, acceptable, and usable [21, 26]. Drawing from guidance about promoting optimal consumer engagement in research (e.g., [27]) and our experience with methods involving young people with lived experience of grief as collaborators (e.g., [4, 5]), we co‐designed the project with young people with lived experience of grief to optimise the exchange, reach, and application of findings. Two young people with lived experience of grief (N.P. and A.B.) helped develop the youth‐led design and were co‐investigators on the funding application. Project governance exemplifies our genuine collaborative approach to engagement and partnership with young people with lived experience of grief.

2.1. Youth Advisory Committee

In 2022, we established a Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) to guide the funding application and all aspects of recruitment, data collection and analysis, and dissemination. The YAC comprised 11 young people aged 18–24 years (M _age = 21.5, SD = 1.7) reporting a range of genders, ethnicities, and grief experiences. Some were YAC members for a previous project about young people and grief [4] and the remainder were recruited via a message posted to the online noticeboard for undergraduate students at an Australian university. A 1‐h online meeting was held with the YAC in October 2022, facilitated by N.P. and L.J.B., to determine the scope of the research and relevance to young people experiencing grief. Each YAC member received a AUD$50 voucher for their time and expertise in shaping the proposal.

Once funding was obtained in 2023, 1‐hour online meetings were held approximately monthly until November 2024 so that YAC members could direct the project. For example, YAC members designed recruitment flyers and dissemination materials, contributed to the development of data collection materials and data interpretation, and assisted in the facilitation of data collection workshops. The dissemination materials comprised a video summary of the project for a general audience, a series of brief videos specifically for young people, infographics for young people and adults supporting grieving young people, and a series of posters for public exhibition (see Data S1 for recruitment flyers, data collection materials, and dissemination outputs). YAC members were paid AUD$50 per meeting and AUD$50 per hour for additional tasks.

2.2. Study Participants

Participants were 42 young people aged 14–24 years (M _age = 20.3, SD = 3.0) with lived experience of grief. Most (n = 36) were women/girls; four were men/boys and two were non‐binary. All resided in the wider metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. As recommended by the YAC, we did not ask for details about the type(s) of loss experienced, based on the assumption that many young people have experienced grief from a range of potential death or non‐death losses, and/or have supported persons who had experienced grief from a range of potential death or non‐death losses. Using flyers designed by N.P. and approved by the YAC, participants were recruited from social media posts (e.g., Instagram), a university campus, and partner organisations. The sample size was informed by the informational power of the data [28] rather than data saturation, which is a contested term [29]. The flyers included a QR code and URL, both of which took potential participants to a Qualtrics survey where they could indicate interest and provide contact details. Potential participants then received the study information statement via email. Once they had consented, they received details of potential workshop dates/times and could sign up for their preferred option.

2.3. Data Collection

Ten 2‐h, online workshops were held via Microsoft Teams. There was one workshop for 14–16‐year‐olds and nine workshops for 18–24‐year‐olds. Each participant participated in one workshop and received a AUD$100 voucher for their time.

The workshop guide was developed with the YAC. The YAC decided that facilitation of the workshops by a young person would be the best strategy to maximise participation and emotional safety. Thus, N.P. (21‐year‐old man) facilitated half of the workshops and another 1–2 YAC members facilitated the ice‐breaker activities (e.g., questions about favourite food/movie/TV show/holiday destination). L.J.B. facilitated the remaining workshops when N.P. was unavailable. After welcoming participants, introducing the team, and explaining confidentiality, participants were asked their age, gender, postcode, and how they heard about the study. Led by a YAC member, each participant was asked to introduce themselves. These questions also helped to ensure cameras and microphones were working.

Each workshop had three activities. First, we asked for participants' thoughts about the term grief literacy, what they think it might mean, and its relevance to young people. Second, we asked them to imagine what a world that recognised, validated, and supported their grief would be like and generated scenarios to illustrate this. This section was inspired by utopian thinking [30], which is theorised to be relevant to marginalised youth [31] and aligned with the realistic utopia depicted in the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death [32]. Further, the idea of scenario creation was inspired by the original articulation of the concept of grief literacy, wherein that paper included 12 short scenarios depicting how those authors imagined a grief literate world [22]. We anticipated that the scenarios created by the youth participants would help illustrate the types of losses important to them, what they imagine good support to be like, the contexts and sources of such support, and so on. Although it was not an aim, we were later able to use the youth‐generated scenarios as part of the dissemination materials, as explained later. Third, we asked about the best ways to disseminate the findings to young people, services young people use, health professionals, places of education, and workplaces. Each workshop concluded with participants being thanked. They were reminded that, although they were not asked to share anything personal, the content of the workshop might have made them think about their own experiences and that they should do something nice for themselves during the rest of the day. They were also reminded to refer to age‐appropriate telephone lines, websites, and services listed in the information sheet.

2.4. Ethical Considerations

The Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HRE2023‐0550) approved the study. Young people aged 14–16 years provided assent, with a parent/guardian providing written informed consent. Young people aged 17–24 years provided written informed consent. Although grief is not a mental disorder or condition, young people with experience of grief could be vulnerable to depression and anxiety [4] because of their age and/or life experiences [33]. However, studies show that bereaved participants report feeling validated and comforted by research that allows them to talk about grief [34]. As recommended by the YAC and prior research (e.g., [4, 5]), we conceptualised grief broadly; that is, from death and non‐death losses. Although a time from death can be ascertained, a time from non‐death losses (e.g., living with a chronic health condition) cannot be so readily ascertained. As such, we did not specify a minimum time from loss to be included in the study because many losses are living losses that require ongoing adaptation and accommodation. Before consenting, potential participants were advised that participants would only be asked to share what they were comfortable with sharing and not to participate if they thought that doing so might cause distress. They could also withdraw at any time if they became distressed.

In each workshop, we clarified that there was no expectation to share personal information, but that some might emerge naturally, and that participants should adhere to principles of confidentiality of what is shared and respect for each other. We developed a mitigation plan in case of participant distress. L.J.B. and S.J.E. are psychologists. S.J.E. is a clinical psychologist with extensive experience in youth mental health and referral; however, no participant left a workshop prematurely, or appeared disengaged or upset or teary, or indicated that they were distressed.

2.5. Data Analysis and Quality Assurance

Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis [35]. Workshops were transcribed verbatim within the Teams app. T.Z. and L.J.B. checked transcripts against the recordings to ensure authentic records for analysis. Led by L.J.B., manual analysis commenced shortly after the first workshop with reading transcriptions on a line‐by‐line basis. Codes ranging from surface level ‘semantic’ codes, descriptive/explanatory codes, and interpretive ‘latent’ codes were used [35]. Data collection and analysis occurred concurrently to inform sample size. The themes were developed from the codes and refined via the discussion of interim findings during YAC meetings to ensure they were internally coherent and distinctive. Braun and Clarke's [35] checklist for assessing quality of thematic analysis research informed processes and write‐up (see Data S2).

3. Findings

Five themes were developed—the importance of grief literacy, understanding and defining grief literacy, components of grief literacy, illustrating grief literacy, and disseminating grief literacy. Extracts from the workshops are presented, with the workshop number indicated in parentheses (e.g., W1). Minor edits were made for readability.

3.1. Importance of Grief Literacy

Participants liked the concept of grief literacy and recognised its potential to create an environment grieving people are recognised, validated, and supported. For example, one stated that ‘not everyone gets the support they need, it is very important for a person who is going through it to have support, and if everyone could get that, it would be better’ (W4) instead of ‘leaving them [alone] when, like, they need your help the most’ (W10). Another participant drew from personal experience to comment that grief literacy ‘will help people in the moment because, in my experience, I didn't know what to do as it was happening … If I had known about grief, I would have handled it better’ (W3). Being grief literate was described as not only meaning that grieving people are supported, but so too are the people trying to support them. For example, one said ‘grief literacy would be for young people dealing with grief first‐hand, but also for, like, their peers to have as well’ (W4) and another commented:

If someone in your life is experiencing grief, you'd be able to kind of help structure what they are going through so it doesn't feel so chaotic… To be there to guide them and direct them and maybe even give their feelings a definition or even validate their feelings, I think that helps. (W8)

Participants also highlighted the potential for grief literacy to be relevant to young people before its needed: ‘You have no idea when grief is gonna come about, so it's good to be prepared and know how to deal with things like that, especially at a young age’ (W9). This universal, preventive approach was described as helping ‘such an uncomfortable topic become a little bit more comfortable, so when we go through it ourselves, it'll be something that we already know and understand a bit and know where to reach out to’ (W6), that ‘when you grow up [talking about grief], you're more used to it and well aware of resources and where you can go for help’ (W7), and would counteract outdated ideas of grief such as it being finite: ‘It would help in the long‐term “cause a lot of, like, grief support is very short‐term … ” cause, like, time passes and people just forget about it and move on’ (W3).

Participants articulated several challenges to a grief literate world such as ‘waitlist times’ (W1, W4, W5) and ‘costs’ (W1) when seeking professional services, the presence of ‘a lot of information that's not true or helpful’ (W5), limited or no compassionate leave from work when ‘a lot of young people are in casual or part‐time work, so they might not have access to paid leave’ (W7), and grief being an overlooked phenomenon. One remarked, ‘schools don't teach grief, like, ever’ (W2) and another noted, ‘we talk about, like, mental health and health but, like, it's never just the stuff that happens every day’ (W10).

3.2. Understanding and Defining Grief Literacy

Participants understood the grief literacy concept, but its meaning was not immediately apparent from the term. Some participants explained that they extrapolated the meaning of grief literacy from similar terms. For example, ‘It kind of reminds me of the term health literacy. It sounds similar, like, understanding more about grief and how there's different forms for different people and stuff’ (W9). From this, they surmised that grief literacy could mean things like ‘knowing how to navigate grief, what to expect, and some skills’ (W4). However, some participants described the term as ‘confusing’ (W1), in that it could mean ‘reading books about grief and trying to comprehend it and stuff like that’ (W10) or ‘writing about grief, like, writing your emotions on paper rather than kinda talking’ (W9). One articulated:

The term doesn't really sound appealing to me personally, just “cause, like, it reminds me of school. And I don't really know, like, what it could mean … I know it's about grief, but I don't know what the second half is about. (W1)

The participants suggested 16 alternative terms that they thought would be more understandable to and relevant for young people (e.g., grief talk, grief toolkit, grief growth, grief care, grief competent); most were proposed by one person. The term grief smart was proposed several times because it ‘brings some positivity to it’ (W2) and aligns with other health promotion programs ‘like SunSmart and stuff, so I think that kind of just sticks’ (W10). However, some others did not like this term because it ‘sounds too much like a [health promotion] campaign’ (W2). The term grief aware was also proposed several times and was supported by other participants. For example, ‘Maybe, like, grief aware. So, like, it's about awareness and just everyone understanding it’ (W10) and ‘it implies, like, everyone's kind of educated on the matter, like, everyone who's trying to help those who are grieving should be aware’ (W2).

Participants commonly articulated that the definition developed for adults was ‘jargon’ (W7), ‘wordy’ (W7), and ‘difficult to understand, especially for someone younger’ (W6). For them, the definition should be ‘easier to understand’ (W6) and ‘simplified’ (W7) because the language was ‘advanced’ (W1), ‘formal’ (W1), ‘complex’ (W7), ‘a bit inaccessible’ (W1), ‘academic’ (W8), and ‘not super clear’ (W6) for young people. For example, ‘I think the definition is good but…there's a lot of big words. It takes, like, a lot to read it and understand it’ (W3). Some participants stated that the usefulness of the concept in practice is important, not the term of the definition. For example, ‘While good in theory, how someone would get to the point of understanding experiences regarding loss and grief is more important’ (W2).

Some participants described the definition as ‘understandable’ (W5) and ‘straightforward’ (W5). However, to account for multiple requests for a definition that is ‘shortened’ (W8), ‘simpler’ (W4) and ‘clear’ (W7), simplified definitions were developed in the later workshops and refined by the YAC to be: Grief literacy means knowing about grief, showing support to grieving people, and being caring and compassionate to themselves and others.

3.3. Components of Grief Literacy

The participants liked that the grief literacy definition included knowledge, skills, and values, which they recognised as relevant to them and other young people. For example, ‘I think they work together. I don't think that anything takes precedence over the other. I think they're all equally important’ (W1), ‘they're all pretty equal…and intertwine with each other’ (W9), and ‘you need to be able to be empathetic and understanding towards people but then you also need to have the knowledge and skills to go along with that, so I think they balance each other out’ (W9).

Participants described grief literate persons as having knowledge of ‘grief and how to navigate it’ (W5), ‘understanding what it is and how to deal with it’ (W4), ‘the language we use to speak about grief’ (W6), that ‘grief can look different between individuals and across cultures’ (W6), and ‘understanding grief and then knowing how to, like, engage with someone who's grieving, compassionately, respectfully’ (W2). They understood grief as ‘normal’ (W10), ‘unique’ (W1, W3), and a response to any loss including death and non‐death losses such as ‘broken relationships’ (W8), ‘divorce’ (W10), ‘loss of a job, change in circumstances, loss of identity, loss of a loved one’ (W2), and ‘the world changing’ (W1). They also noted that young people experience life transitions that can come with losses that evoke grief, such as ‘when you leave high school, you're kind of feeling loss. There's a loss of routine. There's a loss of, like, friendships that kind of fall away’ (W8). One participant commented that, ‘young people are a lot better at seeing grief as more than someone dying. Grief is about loss and is more than death’ (W2). Participants also asserted that grief is not a short or finite process characterised by neat stages. They described grief as ‘not a linear process, it can be messy’ (W9), ‘continuing throughout someone's life’ (W10), with stages ‘you go through stages over and over again and in different orders’ (W4), and that ‘you learn to surf the waves better. The grief is the same, it's just that you get better at dealing with it’ (W1). Grief knowledge was also described as including ‘knowledge about different types of services for youth, and specific ones for specific genders and cultures’ (W3) and that one loss can ‘affect multiple people in the [family or community] system’ (W6). Ultimately, knowledge about grief was important because, ‘if people knew more about grief, it would be better for them to cope with those kinds of situations’ (W4) and ‘it's important for young people to have some understanding of grief, whether that's helping others going through grief, and when you're going through any type of grief, you'll have the knowledge to deal with it, too’ (W8).

Participants described grief literate persons as demonstrating skills in ‘acknowledging what has happened’ (W2), being ‘a good listener’ (W9), ‘normalising’ (W4, W6, W10), ‘validating feelings’ (W2, W6, W8, W9), and ‘skills related to, like, managing and coping [yourself] and helping others with grief’ (W3). One summed up the need for skills because ‘many people might not know how to react, what to say, or how to support them. The whole basis of grief literacy, I guess, is to have the skills to know how to support someone’ (W3). They articulated that it was important to provide support continually because ‘grief doesn't go away, it's important to check‐in with the person over time’ (W1) and ‘it doesn't have to be one conversation; make contact and kind of reach out to let them know you're there’ (W4). Some asserted that there is no single way to help and that skills are needed to match support to the relationship between the supporter and grieving person and the needs of the grieving person:

It depends on what kind of friends they are. Some friend relationships are emotionally connected. [In the context of a relationship break‐up], I could imagine me saying to someone, “Dang, he sucked, didn't he?,” but I wouldn't say that to a person who I know would respond better to, “You wanna tell me about it?” Like, they're different approaches. (W8)

Some participants recognised that personal grief experience alone is not enough to help a grieving person, nor is it necessary if the potential supporter is attuned to the grieving person. One participant commented that a person with experiences of grief ‘might not have the skills to help someone else. I don't feel like you need to experience grief to really, like, understand someone, but you need to be able to fully connect with them’ (W7) and ‘not just, like, jumping in and making it about yourself’ (W9) or assuming to understand. One said, ‘It's fine to say that you don't know what to do or how to help. The issue [is] when you pretend and say you know how to help’ (W2). Further, some participants pointed out that teaching skills in isolation from knowledge and values could reinforce unhelpful ideas such as grief requires resolution or that grieving people need closure via ‘almost implying, like, just move on from it’ (W2), when ‘supporting someone is about helping them move forward, not forgetting what happened’ (W2). In being aware that not all grief is recognised and validated, participants instead emphasised the importance to ‘just be there, listen to them in how you can be alongside them to support them’ (W2), respecting the autonomy and individuality of the person, and avoiding advice and clichés:

For me, the biggest thing is listening more than anything. If they really listen, no two people grieving are the same. [Listening] respects the autonomy of the person and limits the amount of bullshit, unsolicited advice. There is so much and it's tokenistic. ‘In time it'll get better’. Don't tell me that because I'm not in that time and you're not helping me. [What's needed is] teaching more to listen to the individual person, and not fixing. (W2)

That connection, or demonstration of ‘being there’, was considered a central skill. One participant asserted, ‘being there for somebody is much better than saying “I'm here for you” but not actually being available when they need you. In my opinion, saying words is not enough; actions matter more’ (W5) and another said, ‘it's not about trying to fix things or be a saviour; it really is more about being aligned with the emotion of the situation’ (W2). Such skills include looking after basic needs such as ‘making sure they are still eating and sleeping properly’ (W10) and offering practical help.

Participants described grief literate persons as embodying values of ‘empathy’ (W3, W4, W7, W9), ‘care’ (W2, W4), ‘compassion’ (W2, W3, W9, W10), ‘sympathy’ (W3, W9), ‘respect’ (W2) ‘support’ (W2, W3), ‘understanding’ (W2, W7, W9, W10), ‘patience’ (W9, W10), ‘acceptance’ (W7), ‘gentle‐ness’ (W9), and being ‘non‐judgmental’ (W7). For instance, in describing the role of patience, one participant explained, ‘don't just expect them to dump all their stuff onto you, ‘cause some people just don't want to talk about it’ (W10). Another participant demonstrated what non‐judgmental and empathetic values would be like when supporting a grieving young person:

In a perfect word, there'd be a non‐judgmental mindset about grief … Everyone would be more empathetic, like [saying], ‘I can see how sad you are’ or ‘I can sense you're experiencing grief or sadness after a break‐up’ or something. If we impose our judgment, we can't really help the person. (W6)

3.4. Illustrating Grief Literacy

Participants readily imagined a world where young people, schools, universities, workplaces, parents, and services were grief literate. Together, they created 35 scenarios (2–5 per workshop) that depict grieving persons of various ages and genders, grieving various types of death losses (e.g., death of a friend, parent, sibling, pet) and non‐death losses (e.g., relationship break‐up, parents' divorce, identity loss), at different time periods (e.g., immediately after the loss, several months later), from different sources (e.g., friend, grief counsellor, sport coach), and of different support types (e.g., emotional, instrumental). The YAC made minor modifications to the scenarios (e.g., ensuring names were not repeated across scenarios) and chose images to accompany each scenario. Examples are provided in Table 1.

TABLE 1.

Example grief literacy scenarios developed by young people.

Scenarios
Kate is in her final year of high school when a classmate dies pretty unexpectedly. The school takes the initiative to respond in a way that recognises the young person who has died and respects the different ways each student grieves the loss. The staff and students gather in the gym. The principal acknowledges the sadness in the room, and that nothing is going to take away the sadness that day, and makes it clear that there are numerous people available to support the students. Students later find out that exam dates were pushed back and feel relieved that their emotional and academic needs are supported. Students who were close to the classmate also are given grace if they needed days away from school and/or needed to step out of the classroom.
Max's pet fish Nemo just died. He is really sad but scared to tell anyone his thoughts or show his feelings. He doesn't want to be made fun of for being sad about a fish. He puts on a brace face. His older brother knows the importance of companion animals and takes the time to check in with Max about his thoughts and feelings about Nemo. He dispels any fear Max had of being made fun of or having to ‘take it like a man.’
Jessie is at a café with friends when a memory of her loss comes into her mind. One of the friends, Anna, notices Jessie's face change. Anna understands the importance of allowing people to show emotion rather than hiding it. She moves closer to Jessie, to allow space for the expression and to listen without telling her to quickly hide her feelings or toughen up. Anna asks, ‘Would you like to talk about what you're thinking about?’ Jessie appreciates the question isn't a demand to explain herself and says, ‘Not now, but when we get back to my place I'd love to talk about it with you’.
Dean goes to the GP because he's having trouble falling asleep. The GP asks questions, and understanding the link between grief and sleep disturbances, asks Dean about bereavement or loss history. Dean indicates that he recently lost his grandma that he was very close to. The GP responds by saying that they understand in a respectful, compassionate, appropriate way. As the starting point, the GP suggests that Dean tries an online, self‐guided, and evidence‐based intervention for sleep. Dean appreciates a suggestion that is free to access and can be done at home and without a waitlist. Together, they also decide to book an appointment in 3 weeks' time to check in with how things are going and explore other support options.

Note: Each scenario shows different types of loss and in diverse contexts. GP, general practitioner (family physician).

The scenarios illustrate what is important for young people to feel that their grief is recognised, validated, and supported. They show that, in a grief literate world, visible expressions of grief would be permitted. People and contexts would ‘be there’ for grieving people. Potential supporters would respect the autonomy of grieving people, be open‐minded and non‐judgmental, show compassion, and avoid clichés and unwanted advice. They imagined that ‘there would be, like, resources available…and [people] would have, like, learned about it in class’ (W10). As a result, ‘in a grief literate world, people would be happier, freer, instead of bottling their grief up and pushing through’ (W8), ‘we'd be able to have a conversation [about grief] with mum and dad and people around us’ (W6), and that ‘a perfect world would, like, just allow people to have, like, more visual emotions and not tell them to pack them away’ (W1). One remarked:

From the perspective of a young person supporting another person who is grieving, in a perfect world, young people would feel equipped and comfortable and have the right tools and information to provide that support and also to take care of themselves during that process. (W5)

3.5. Disseminating Grief Literacy

Participants determined that findings should be shared directly to young people via ‘social media’ (W1–W10). Participants preferred dissemination of study findings via ‘infographics’ (W1, W4, W6, W8) and ‘videos’ (W1, W6, W7, W8). Infographics were best if they ‘have lots of pictures and not so much text’ (W7). Videos were best if they were ‘short’ (W1, W3, W5, W8), ‘informative’ (W3), ‘relatable’ (W1), and ‘engaging’ (W8). Multiple videos were described as ‘great so that if people are interested, they can keep watching’ (W6). Social media was described as providing a mechanism ‘to target young people’ (W3) and for young people to ‘share resources, personal stories, and supportive messages’ (W5). Dissemination direct to young people via social media minimises young people having to engage in ‘the effort to look it up when it's all too hard’ (W2) or fearing ‘judgment when accessing resources’ (W5). There was a recognition that social media would only be searched by young people seeking information on grief and therefore there would need to be other ways to ensure they develop grief literacy before they need it: ‘I don't know if it's necessarily something that people would search up unless, like, they were going through it, whereas we need to have the knowledge before we actually experience [grief]’ (W8).

Likewise, they asserted that the findings should also be shared with people who are potential supporters of grieving young people such as ‘parents’ (W10), ‘teachers’ (W2, W3, W4, W5), ‘doctors’ (W9), ‘school nurses’ (W2), ‘psychologists’ (W2), and ‘counsellors’ (W10). These infographics would help them ‘incorporate the knowledge themselves [into what they do]’ (W6) because:

The mental health aspect isn't taken as seriously. It can be really rough. I think there needs to be a better understanding among those first contact people on how to be more empathetic. A lot of the time they come from a clinical, theory‐based perspective. We need care, understanding, and validation. (W2)

In addition to infographics and videos, posters were described as able to reach all groups ‘because they're more visual’ (W4). Participants did not like the idea of pamphlets ‘due to the waste’ (W5) and suggested a QR code to direct young people to a website with further information and links to other resources would be ‘more beneficial than a pamphlet’ (W8). Some young people suggested exhibiting a collection of posters, each depicting a scenario, could be displayed in places such as ‘sporting clubs’ (W9), ‘schools’ (W1, W4, W5, W9, W10), ‘youth centres’ (W2, W10), ‘hospitals’ (W2, W4), ‘universities’ (W2), ‘music festivals’ (W3), ‘libraries’ (W3, W4), ‘shopping centres’ (W10), the ‘community’ (W5, W9) and ‘anywhere that a young person would present for help’ (W2).

Workshops to develop grief literacy in young people were favoured because they could be delivered ‘in smaller groups and with in‐person conversations’ (W4) and could include ‘role plays’ (W6) and be ‘interactive’ (W8). The workshops could include ‘helpful and factual information, like, on how common it is, statistics, to make you feel more sane as a person’ (W5), provide ‘a safe space to have that communication’ (W8), and opportunities to practice ‘how to, like, discuss and deal with grief and check‐in with each other but not in a way that's, like, insensitive, pushy, or prying’ (W4). Workshops were thought to be effective because the sharing of scenarios and skills practice ‘helps put [learning] into context’ (W6) and providing ‘links to other resources’ (W3) would mean that attendees could ‘use information that they have been given when they need it’ (W8). A certificate of completion could be offered because, ‘if grief literacy was incentivised, it pulls people in’ (W8).

Across infographics, videos, posters, and workshops, depictions of young people's grief must be ‘authentic’ (W5) and ‘genuine otherwise they seem kind of dismissive and kind of minimising’ (W4). These workshops could be offered in places like schools and universities. For example, one participant said, ‘At uni[versity], I did a course about mental health first aid. So doing, like, a similar one for grief literacy would be a good idea’ (W9) and another participant asserted, ‘It would be so beneficial in high school. Having that understanding from that age would have been invaluable to me. Developing a workshop with a whole syllabus about it that would be just, like, incredible for young people’ (W2). Further, participants asserted that grief literacy could be a component of university transition and workplace induction programs. ‘When uni[versity] started, we had to take modules on respectful relationships and other topics. There should be one on grief as well’ (W1) and ‘workplaces have induction training [and] maybe that could include grief literacy’ (W3). They desired places like schools and workplaces to be proactive in having ‘that understanding of and have compassion for young people’ (W1) and providing spaces for reflection and healing where ‘we take a time out and reset’ (W9) and have ‘conversations about [grief] in community spaces’ (W1).

4. Discussion

We aimed to understand the applicability of grief literacy to young people. The young people in this study understood the concept of grief literacy but proposed a simplified definition that captured its core components of knowledge, skills, and values. Further, the meaning of grief literacy was not immediately apparent and therefore the young people proposed several alternative terms that clarified the meaning and resonated with them. The young people in this study expressed a desire for a grief literate world and could articulate what that would be like via scenarios. These scenarios captured the diversity of grieving young people and the diversity of losses they experience, and this conceptualisation of grief from death and non‐death losses aligns with the integrated process model of loss and grief [36]. Together, the definition and scenarios we developed illustrate young people's imaginings of a world that recognises, validates, and supports their grief experiences.

The participants told us that grieving young people need support that is tailored to their individual needs rather than a one‐size‐fits‐all approach to feel acknowledged and understood. This notion underpins the co‐designed translation plan that features several strategies tailored to the promotion of grief literacy both to young people directly and to adults (e.g., teachers, parents, psychologists) who are likely to support grieving young people (i.e., the videos, infographics, and posters, each depicting a grief literate scenario, for display as a public exhibition). A recent study showed that bereavement resources in Australia are hard to understand and do not reflect diversity [37] whereas our dissemination materials use the language of participants aged 14–24 and reflect diversity (e.g., gender, ability, ethnicity) to ensure the needs of all grieving young people are met.

Additionally, the suggested workshops tailored to young people to increase their grief literacy could be designed and tested in a future study. If successful, the workshops could then be incorporated into the ongoing suite of services offered by a relevant organisation, allowing them to be sustainably embedded into schools, universities, and other settings relevant to young people. A 2021 meta‐analysis [38] concluded that preventive interventions designed for young people can be successfully delivered in contexts like schools, workplaces, and community settings. Such early intervention workshops may assist in preventing later mental health problems for grieving young people and might be a key strategy for addressing rising rates of mental health concerns among young people, especially as mental health issues frequently begin in adolescence [39, 40]. Further, given that rates of poor mental health in young people are increasing, with 40% of 16–24‐year‐olds in Australia experiencing a mental health disorder and over 50% not seeking help [41], such workshops would upskill young people and those they interact with most when they are unable to or unsure about seeing a professional.

Ultimately, the findings contribute to a stronger understanding of how to support grieving young people. This is because much more is known about supporting grieving older adults (e.g., [42]) or teenagers combined with grieving children [43], meaning that the opinions and needs of this important age group can be overlooked. Defining and illustrating grief literacy for young people—and in partnership with them—is the first step to being able to develop grief literacy interventions and campaigns so that individuals and contexts are grief literate and could improve outcomes for grieving young people.

5. Limitations and Conclusions

The transferability of our findings may be limited by our sample including many more girls/women than boys/men. Despite attempts to recruit more broadly, via targeting relevant demographics via social media and attempts to recruit through sports clubs and independent private schools, we were unable to attract as many boys/men as girls/women. The overrepresentation of women is a longstanding problem in grief research [44] and one that requires attention to rectify public stigmatisation of men's expressions of vulnerable emotions (e.g., [45]). Some participants did speak a little more than others, and efforts were made by facilitators to keep participation relatively even. Nevertheless, it is impossible to equally capture everyone's lived experiences, and the findings are naturally influenced by the amount of participation and speech.

Grief in young people is a public health challenge, and action to address young people's grief support needs is overdue. Young people commonly experience grief from death and non‐death losses, with serious implications involving a range of short‐ and long‐term mental health adversity. The study is the first empirical investigation of the applicability of grief literacy within a specific group (i.e., young people). The grief literacy concept, albeit with a different name, resonates with young people, and they were able to develop multiple dissemination materials to improve the grief literacy of young people and those who are likely to support them. It is our contention that grief literate young people will be better able to cope with their own grief and to support others in their grief during times of vulnerability and need, improving their mental health and well‐being outcomes. At the same time, grief literate potential supporters of young people, such as parents, teachers, and mental health professionals, are needed so that they are well‐versed in the range of young people's grief experiences and skilled in offering the help young people desire from them.

Author Contributions

Lauren J. Breen: conceptualisation, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing – original draft preparation, project administration, funding acquisition. Tamara Zammit: validation, investigation, data curation, supervision, writing – reviewing and editing, project administration. Nicholas Payne: conceptualisation, methodology, validation, investigation, writing – reviewing and editing, funding acquisition. Roanna Lobo: conceptualisation, methodology, validation, writing – reviewing and editing, funding acquisition. Amy Black: conceptualisation, methodology, validation, writing – reviewing and editing, funding acquisition. Sarah J. Egan: conceptualiszation, methodology, validation, writing – reviewing and editing, funding acquisition.

Ethics Statement

The Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HRE2023‐0550) approved the study. Young people aged 14–16 years provided assent, with a parent/guardian providing written informed consent. Young people aged 17–24 years provided written informed consent.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Supporting information

Data S1: Supplement 1: Recruitment flyers, workshop guide, dissemination materials.

Data S2: Supplement 2: Braun and Clarke's (2022) checklist.

Breen L. J., Zammit T., Payne N., Lobo R., Black A., and Egan S. J., “A World That Recognises, Validates, and Supports Young People's Grief: A Co‐Designed Study,” Health Promotion Journal of Australia 36, no. 4 (2025): e70083, 10.1002/hpja.70083.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.