Losing a Parent

The results of a study investigating the psychological impact of losing a parent on children are presented in the June issue of the Journal of The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.  A sample of 360 bereaved children ranging in age from 6 to 17 were interviewed along with their surviving parent on four occasions during the two-year period following their parent's death.  The bereaved children were compared with a sample of 110 children who had been diagnosed with depression and 128 community control children.  The results indicated that bereavement was associated with increased psychiatric problems during the first two years following a parent's death although low socioeconomic status and depression in the surviving parent were associated with poorer outcomes.  Anticipation of parental death was not found to be a factor and bereaved children were less impaired than children with depression. 

The abstract for the study can be found here.  A full-text version of the study is also available. 

Comments

[Peter]

Certainly, the loss of even one of the parents is a tragedy, especially for a small child. What can only add, not everything in this world is dependent on us, destiny is not changed, we have only to show their concern.