Final answer:
Steven can relate to children in his support group because he has experienced the loss of a parent to cancer, thus understanding their grief on a personal level. His leadership of the support group may serve as a form of altruistic coping, providing common ground for connection and processing of similar traumatic experiences.
Step-by-step explanation:
Steven relates to the children in his support group because he has gone through a similar traumatic experience, having lost his own mother to cancer at the age of 16. This shared experience provides him with a personal understanding and empathy towards the children's situation, as they navigate their emotional journey and coping process. As someone who has directly experienced grief, Steven can connect with the children on a more intimate level, providing support grounded in real-life experience rather than theoretical knowledge. His leadership of the support group is likely therapeutic for both him and the participants as they work through their grieving processes together.
Experiencing loss, especially at a young age, can lead individuals to seek out or create support systems where they can find solace and communal healing. Steven's involvement in leading a support group is indicative of utilizing a coping mechanism called altruism, where helping others is a way to find purpose and manage one's own emotions. Additionally, his empathy is reinforced by the concept of shared suffering and the natural human desire to connect with others who have faced similar difficulties.