Studies of the Affective State in Bereaved Children<sup>*</sup>

Cheifetz, Philip; Stavrakakis, G.; Lester, Eva P.

doi:10.1177/070674378903400711

Cited by 23 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Our findings replicate previous research including high levels of mental health difficulties in surviving parents,21 an association between parental and child mental health, and boys showing more disturbance than girls 4. We also found widespread psychological disturbance in bereaved children1 – 10 and higher levels of disturbance than in classroom controls 4. It is possible that participants were those most concerned about their children's behaviour.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…The few empirical studies of parentally bereaved children report increased psychological disturbance, with a wide range of symptoms including anxiety, depression, withdrawal, sleep disturbance, and aggression 1 – 10. The risk of psychiatric disorders in children is greater when surviving parents have mental health difficulties 4.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Methodological shortcomings in previous research include a lack of standardised measures or control groups 1 6 8; the use of referred samples 1 4 or community samples identified through obituaries or undertakers,2 5 7 10 a method that fails to identify up to 30% of bereaved families 3. Our study is novel for two reasons: it is the first British study of childhood bereavement using a representative community sample, and it is the first study to ascertain whether surviving parents wanted service support for their children and whether service provision is related to parental or child mental health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Psychological disturbance and service provision in parentally bereaved children: prospective case-control study

Dowdney

Wilson²,

Maughan³

et al. 1999

BMJ

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Objectives To identify whether psychiatric disturbance in parentally bereaved children and surviving parents is related to service provision. Design Prospective case-control study. Setting Two adjacent outer London health authorities. Participants 45 bereaved families with children aged 2 to 16 years. Main outcome measures Psychological disturbance in parentally bereaved children and surviving parents, and statistical associations between sample characteristics and service provision. Results Parentally bereaved children and surviving parents showed higher than expected levels of psychiatric difficulties. Boys were more affected than girls, and bereaved mothers had more mental health difficulties than bereaved fathers. Levels of psychiatric disturbance in children were higher when parents showed probable psychiatric disorder. Service provision related to the age of the children and the manner of parental death. Children under 5 years of age were less likely to be offered services than older children even though their parents desired it. Children were significantly more likely to be offered services when the parent had committed suicide or when the death was expected. Children least likely to receive service support were those who were not in touch with services before parental death. Conclusions Service provision was not significantly related to parental wishes or to level of psychiatric disturbance in parents or children. There is a role for general practitioners and primary care workers in identifying psychologically distressed surviving parents whose children may be psychiatrically disturbed, and referring them to appropriate services.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Psychological disturbance and service provision in parentally bereaved children: prospective case-control study

Dowdney

Wilson²,

Maughan³

et al. 1999

BMJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This finding holds regardless of sample size, sample recruitment, and type of measure employed. Thus both small-scale studies that include referred children (Cheifetz, Stavrakakis, & Lester, 1989), and larger-scale community studies (Van Eederwegh et al, 1982 concur in reporting childhood dysphoria, although rates vary.…”

Section: Psychiatric Outcomementioning

confidence: 99%

Annotation: Childhood Bereavement Following Parental Death

Dowdney

2000

Child Psychology Psychiatry

279

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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.

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“…In contrast to the specificity of dysphoric mood and anhedonia, irritability occurs frequently in adolescent depression (Carlson & Strober, 1983), but is more common in children with conduct disorders (Carlson & Cantwell, 1980). Irritability seems to play a stronger role in depression seen in children than adolescents (Cheifetz, Stavrakakis, & Lester, 1989). Furthermore, irritability correlates poorly with the CDRS total score (Poznanski et al, 1983).…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%