Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40829842›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Risk and protective factors for bereavement adaptation: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Jiayu Zhang, Wing Shan Ho, Ming Chen, Yuan Cao

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Jiayu ZhangDepartment of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8163-8078
Wing Shan HoDepartment of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0832-8356
Ming ChenDepartment of Psychology, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-4381-113X
Yuan CaoDepartment of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China sallycao@hku.hk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5635-9253

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionMany people experience lifelong impacts after losing a loved one. Bereavement adaptation, which refers to how people adapt to changes after a death, is crucial for their subsequent life stages. Bereavement experienced during one's childhood or teenage years can be even more challenging, considering the dual burden of bereavement adaptation and developmental tasks. However, no review identifies the risk or protective factors relating to such bereavement adaptation from a lifespan perspective. This review will thus unpack the factors that influence one's long-term adaptation to the bereavement experienced during childhood. This review will identify the risk and protective factors affecting individual adaptation to bereavement experienced during childhood and adolescence within a four-domain framework: mental health, grief, developmental competence and others. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A systematic review and meta-analysis will be conducted based on the search from 24 February to 31 October 2025 in six databases: PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, MEDLINE and Scopus. Only those studies that have specified the risk and protective factors for the bereavement adaptation of children and adolescents will be included. This protocol will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols 2015 statement. Adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 statement, two independent reviewers will conduct the literature search, screening, inclusion and data extraction, and assess the risk of bias using the Risk of Bias 2 tool and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist. A third reviewer will perform the meta-analysis based on the data extracted by the first two reviewers. The effect sizes will be re-examined for each risk factor in the meta-analysis. A random-effects model will be employed to account for variability among studies. Heterogeneity will be assessed, and subgroup analyses will be performed. All the findings will be reported following the PRISMA 2020 statement. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is not required for this systematic review and meta-analysis. Only those studies with ethical approval will be included in this review. The results will be shared by being published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at academic conferences. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD420250641709.

Indexed as

Adaptation, PsychologicalBereavementAdolescentChildHumansMeta-Analysis as TopicProtective FactorsResearch DesignRisk FactorsSystematic Reviews as TopicAdolescentChildMeta-AnalysisRisk FactorsSystematic Review

Identifiers

PMID40829842
PMCPMC12366627

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.