Annotation: Childhood Bereavement Following Parental Death

Abstract

Psychological outcomes in children who have experienced the death of a parent are heterogeneous. One child in five is likely to develop psychiatric disorder. In the year following bereavement, children commonly display grief, distress, and dysphoria. Nonspecific emotional and behavioural difficulties among children are often reported by surviving parents and the bereaved children themselves. The highest rates of reported difficulties are found in boys. This review identifies the moderating and mediating variables that lead to some children being more vulnerable to disturbance than others following parental death. Limitations and gaps in the recent bereavement literature are identified. Theoretical and methodological advances that are necessary for a coherent account of childhood bereavement are outlined.

Impact of life events on child mental health before school entry at age six

“…This result is in contradiction to other findings [6,27], but is limited by the small number of appropriate cases in the present study. Moreover, the result must be seen in the light of lower parental reports of child's symptoms compared to self-reports, as known from the extant literature about childhood bereavement following parental death [10].…”

Attachment and Autonomy During Adolescence

“…Research on adolescents ' responses to the loss of a parent also demonstrates that the very basic nature of the attachment relationship during this life stage is relatively unchanged. Similar to younger children, adolescents who lose a parent experience significant dysphoria over the parents ' absence and increased anxiety about separation from remaining attachment figures (Dowdney, 2000 ). Further, teens who have lost parents often evidence attachment behaviors in the form of attempts to maintain a connection with the lost parent in some way, such as by talking to them, visiting their graves, and cherishing a possession of theirs Silverman, Nickman, & Worden, 1992 ;Stoppelbein & Greening, 2000 ;VanEerdewegh, Bieri, Parrilla, & Clayton, 1982 ;VanEerdewegh, Clayton, & VanEerdewegh, 1985 ).…”

A Developmental Psychopathology Framework of the Psychosocial Needs of Children Orphaned by HIV

“…Several studies in the United States have examined the link between childhood bereavement and mental health problems in later life (Dowdney, 2000;Lutzke, Ayers, Sandler, & Barr, 1997). The Harvard Child Bereavement (HCB) Study, for example, was a prospective study of children ages 6-17 years who had lost a parent to death.…”