The “How” and “When” of Parental Loss in Adulthood

Abstract

In order to evaluate the role of cause of death on the grief responses of parentally bereaved young and middle-aged adults, 400 individuals completed measures assessing their experiences and feelings surrounding the loss of a parent. Respondents included 247 young adults and 155 middle-aged adults. Cause of death was categorized as acute or anticipated with 209 participants reporting the parent's death as acute, while anticipated death was reported by 191 individuals. Results suggested that gender of the adult child and age level of the participant were important factors contributing to the grief response, and women were found to have more difficulty adjusting to the loss of a parent as well as demonstrating a more intense grief response. Young adults were found to be more impacted by the loss of a parent than were middle-aged adults. Those who were single or separated were similarly more impacted versus those who were married, where more young adults were single/separated and more middle-aged adults were married. Cause of death was only mildly influential in influencing responses to parental loss and did not interact with other studied variables. These results point to the importance of support from others in coping with a parent's death as well as for the counseling of bereaved persons who may be at risk for difficulties in coping with the death of a parent and enable a more precise understanding of individual grief processes across the adult lifespan.

In good times and in bad: A longitudinal analysis of the impact of bereavement on self-esteem and life satisfaction in couples

“…Being in a stable, romantic relationship might have helped participants cope with the bereavement. Research has shown that individuals in romantic relationships had higher self-esteem and life satisfaction levels than singles (Dush & Amato, 2005; Harris & Orth, 2019) and that they were less negatively impacted after the loss of a parent (Hayslip et al, 2015). In addition, participants who were strongly impacted by a bereavement might have withdrawn or dropped out.…”

In Good Times and in Bad: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Bereavement on Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction in Couples

“…Research has shown that individuals in romantic relationships had higher self-esteem and life satisfaction levels than singles (Dush & Amato, 2005;Harris & Orth, 2019) and that they were less negatively impacted after the loss of a parent (Hayslip, Pruett, & Caballero, 2015).…”

Recent Parental Death and Relationship Qualities Between Midlife Adults and Their Grown Children

“…As parent–child relationships represent lifelong bonds, parental death is often considered a major stressor—a distressing event that can challenge people's adaptive capacities (Pearlin, ; Umberson, ). Following the death of a parent, individuals report thoughts and emotions associated with grief (e.g., existential loss; guilt, blame, and anger; preoccupation with thoughts of the deceased; Carver, Hayslip, Gilley, & Watts, ), symptoms of anxiety and depression (Hayslip, Pruett, & Caballero, ), a decrease in life satisfaction (Leopold & Lechner, ), and a decline in self‐esteem (Marks et al, ).…”

“…Individuals who have a more neurotic personality tend to report more negative and ambivalent relationship qualities with their grown children (Birditt, Hartnett, Fingerman, Zarit, & Antonucci, ; Fingerman, Pitzer, Lefkowitz, Birditt, & Mroczek, ). The impact of the loss tends to be greater if the relationships to the deceased were emotionally significant (Bowen, ; Hayslip et al, ; Stokes, ). Furthermore, the negative effects of parental death on individuals' subjective well‐being tend to mitigate over time (Leopold & Lechner, ).…”