Exposure to Family Member Deaths Across the Life Course for Hispanic Individuals

Abstract

The present study documents differences in exposure to family member deaths among foreign-born and U.S.-born Hispanic individuals compared with non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White individuals. We use data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; 1992–2016, ages 51+; N = 23,228) and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; Waves I–V, ages 12–43; N = 11,088) to estimate the risk of exposure to the death of a mother, father, spouse, sibling, and child across the life course. HRS results show more inequities in exposure to family deaths compared with Add Health results, suggesting differences by age or birth cohort. Compared with non-Hispanic Whites, U.S.-born Hispanic individuals in the HRS have a higher risk of experiencing a child's death throughout adulthood and a sibling's death in later life; the latter is explained by larger sibship size, indicating a greater lifetime risk of bereavement experiences. The higher risk of parental death during childhood for U.S.-born and foreign-born Hispanic individuals is explained by covariates (e.g., lower levels of educational attainment). Hispanic individuals generally have a lower risk of family deaths than non-Hispanic Black individuals, but at times a higher risk of exposure relative to non-Hispanic White individuals.

The embodiment of parental death in early life through accelerated epigenetic aging: Implications for understanding how parental death before 18 shapes age-related health risk among older adults

“…Moreover, while it is not a limitation for this study, sociodemographic differences in the effect and pathways should be considered for future research. Prior research has shown that Black and Latinx individuals are more likely to experience parental death in early life than White individuals ( Donnelly et al, 2023a ; Umberson et al, 2017 ). Women may have greater risk of poorer health outcomes than men from parental loss in childhood ( Liu et al, 2022a , Liu et al, 2022b ).…”

“…The death of a parent in early life should be viewed as an important juncture in a young person's life that has the potential to cascade into a lifetime of hardship as evidenced by worse mental health, compromised physical health, and elevated mortality risk ( Donnelly et al, 2023a ; Liu et al, 2022a ; Smith, 2014 ). We provide evidence that parental death in early life is associated with epigenetic changes that underlie several poor age-related health outcomes.…”

“…The death of parent in early life may be one of the most difficult experiences a young person can encounter. Parental death in early life often leads to considerable loss of social support and economic resources that can undermine health and well-being throughout life ( Conde-Sala & Garre-Olmo, 2020 ; Donnelly et al, 2023a ; Marks et al, 2007 ). While the event itself is acute, the absence of a parent is felt throughout life.…”

“…People who experience parental loss in early life may be disadvantaged throughout life. It is these challenging aspects of early parental death that may increase risk for several morbidities and premature mortality ( Donnelly et al, 2023a ; Liu et al, 2022a ; Smith, 2014 ).…”

Familial Loss of a Loved One and Biological Aging

“…To address existing gaps, we investigated if familial loss and quantity of loss, occurring either in early life or adulthood, were associated with biological aging in a diverse, population-based sample. Acknowledging prior research on racial disparities in loss experiences and variability in exposure histories, 6 , 14 we also examined the interaction between loss and race on biological aging. We analyzed survey responses from waves 1 to 5 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), coupled with new epigenetic data from wave 5.…”