Long‐term effects of experiencing childhood parental death on mental and physical health: A NESDA study

Abstract

Experiencing parental death during childhood is an adverse, potentially traumatic experience that may have substantial long‐term effects on mental and physical well‐being. The current study was based on data of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety to investigate mental health (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and suicidal ideation) and physical health outcomes (i.e., metabolic syndrome, telomere length, and perceived physical health) as well as health behaviour (i.e., smoking status, alcohol use, and physical activity) to provide more insight into the long‐term outcomes after experiencing childhood parental death (CPD). For individuals who experienced CPD, we also investigated the role of loss‐related factors in these associations, namely the age of the child when their parent passed away and gender of the deceased parent. Interviews and questionnaires were completed by adults between 18 and 65 years; 177 participants experienced CPD (mean age = 45.19, 61.6% female) and 2463 did not (mean age = 41.38, 66.6% female). Results showed no overall association between the experience of CPD and mental and physical health indices and health behaviour. Within the CPD group, experiencing CPD at a younger age was related to a higher likelihood of suicidal ideation. These findings seem to illustrate a general positive adjustment with regard to long‐term health functioning after experiencing such an impactful life event. Future research should focus on individual differences in terms of adaptation, especially elucidating on contextual factors after the loss, such as the kind of support that is or is not provided by the surviving parent and/or other important individuals.