FT

development during ad-olescence forms the back story when an ad-olescent copes with irrevocable loss. In order to provide bereaved youth the best support possible, counselors, clinicians, and others working with them should understand how bereavement impacts adolescent devel-opment and how grieving youth respond to the loss of a loved one. It has become useful in the past several decades to adopt the idea that adolescent development occurs in three phases: early adolescence, middle adolescence, and later adolescence (an idea introduced by Peter Blos in 1979). Early adolescence extends from approximately the ages of 10 to 14, and is marked by the onset of puberty. Middle adolescence extends from the ages of 15 to 17, and later adolescence extends from the ages 18 to 22. These age ranges are likely conditioned by Western cultural biases in de-veloped countries. In some cultures, coming of age has no three-part phase of adolescent development; instead, boys and girls pass from childhood into adulthood when they reach puberty and can perform the tasks ex-pected of an adult. From the early through later adolescent years, it is expected that individuals will gain increased skill and competency to make career choices, enter into and maintain inti-mate relationships, and form an autonomous identity. In short, the developmental tasks adolescents are expected to master involv