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Denhup C. Hurricane-Force Grief: A Mirror of Fathers' Love. OMEGA-JOURNAL OF DEATH AND DYING 2024:302228241260979. [PMID: 38870417 DOI: 10.1177/00302228241260979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
A child's death is a traumatic experience that profoundly impacts parents' psychological, physical, and social wellbeing. The literature describes gender differences in grief response associated with child loss, yet less is known about fathers' grief in comparison that of mothers due to fathers' underrepresentation in bereavement research. There is a need for scholarly exploration to advance understanding of fathers' grief. This article presents selected findings on fathers' grief responses that emerged from a larger qualitative study, which aimed to describe fathers' lived experience of bereavement after a child's death. Profound grief emerged as one essential theme of fathers' bereavement experience. Participants described the meaning of their grief, their multidimensional grief responses, their grief triggers, and their grief intensity. Findings deepen understanding of fathers' grief associated with child loss and advance the body of parental bereavement literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Denhup
- Fairfield University, Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies, Fairfield, CT, USA
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Mellencamp KA. Gender Differences in Depressive Symptoms Following Child Death in Later Life. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2023; 78:1591-1603. [PMID: 36462213 PMCID: PMC10461527 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbac189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study examined short- and long-term psychological adjustment to parental bereavement in later life for mothers and fathers. METHODS Using 9 waves of data from the United States (1998-2014 Health and Retirement Study), I estimated trajectories of mothers' and fathers' depressive symptoms surrounding child death in later life, highlighting gender differences in adjustment. Moderation analyses were performed to uncover heterogeneous trajectories across parental characteristics. RESULTS Mothers were more likely to experience child death and reported higher depressive symptoms prior to parental bereavement than fathers. Mothers and fathers who lost a child reported an increase in depressive symptoms that diminished over time. The short-term elevation in depressive symptoms was marginally greater for mothers than fathers, but depressive symptoms declined at a faster rate for mothers than fathers in the years following the death. These counterbalancing changes resulted in mothers and fathers returning to their respective prebereavement levels of depressive symptoms between 2 and 4 years postbereavement. Parental age moderated trajectories distinctly by gender, and the presence of surviving children buffered the impact of child death on depressive symptoms for mothers but not fathers. DISCUSSION Mothers more often experience child death in later life and their adjustment process differs from that of fathers, underscoring the salience of gender in shaping how older parents respond to the death of a child. Older parents and mothers without surviving children are vulnerable to prolonged elevations in depressive symptoms following the death of a child in later life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kagan A Mellencamp
- Department of Sociology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA
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Wei D, Olofsson T, Chen H, Janszky I, Fang F, Ljung R, Yu Y, Li J, László KD. Death of a child and the risk of atrial fibrillation: a nationwide cohort study in Sweden. Eur Heart J 2021; 42:1489-1495. [PMID: 33515041 PMCID: PMC8046501 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa1084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Aims The role of psychological stress in the aetiology of atrial fibrillation (AF) is unclear. The death of a child is one of the most severe sources of stress. We aimed to investigate whether the death of a child is associated with an increased risk of AF. Methods and results We studied parents with children born during 1973–2014 included the Swedish Medical Birth Register (n = 3 924 237). Information on death of a child, AF and socioeconomic, lifestyle and health-related covariates was obtained through linkage to nationwide population and health registers. We examined the link between death of a child and AF risk using Poisson regression. Parents who lost a child had a 15% higher risk of AF than unexposed parents [incidence rate ratio (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.15 (1.10–1.20)]. An increased risk of AF was observed not only if the child died due to cardiovascular causes [IRR (95% CI): 1.35 (1.17–1.56)], but also in case of deaths due to other natural [IRR (95% CI): 1.15 (1.09–1.21)] or unnatural [IRR (95% CI): 1.10 (1.02–1.19)] causes. The risk of AF was highest in the 1st week after the loss [IRR (95% CI): 2.87 (1.44–5.75)] and remained 10–40% elevated on the long term. Conclusions Death of a child was associated with a modestly increased risk of AF. Our finding that an increased risk was observed also after loss of a child due to unnatural deaths suggests that stress-related mechanisms may also be implicated in the development of AF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dang Wei
- Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tristan Olofsson
- Department of Medicine (Solna), Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital D1:04, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Hua Chen
- Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Imre Janszky
- Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Håkon Jarls gate 11, 7030 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Fang Fang
- Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Nobels väg 13, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rickard Ljung
- Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Nobels väg 13, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Yongfu Yu
- Department of Clinical Medicine - Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Olof Palmes Allé 43-45, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jiong Li
- Department of Clinical Medicine - Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Olof Palmes Allé 43-45, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Krisztina D László
- Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
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Smith-Greenaway E, Alburez-Gutierrez D, Trinitapoli J, Zagheni E. Global burden of maternal bereavement: indicators of the cumulative prevalence of child loss. BMJ Glob Health 2021; 6:e004837. [PMID: 33824177 PMCID: PMC8030478 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND We provide country-level estimates of the cumulative prevalence of mothers bereaved by a child's death in 170 countries and territories. METHODS We generate indicators of the cumulative prevalence of mothers who have had an infant, under-five-year-old or any-age child ever die by using publicly available survey data in 89 countries and an indirect approach that combines formal kinship models and life-table methods in an additional 81 countries. We label these measures the maternal cumulative prevalence of infant mortality (mIM), under-five mortality (mU5M) and offspring mortality (mOM) and generate prevalence estimates for 20-44-year-old and 45-49-year-old mothers. RESULTS In several Asian and European countries, the mIM and mU5M are below 10 per 1000 mothers yet exceed 200 per 1000 mothers in several Middle Eastern and African countries. Global inequality in mothers' experience of child loss is enormous: mothers in high-mortality-burden African countries are more than 100 times more likely to have had a child die than mothers in low-mortality-burden Asian and European countries. In more than 20 African countries, the mOM exceeds 500 per 1000 mothers, meaning that it is typical for a surviving 45-49-year-old mother to be bereaved. DISCUSSION The study reveals enormous global disparities in mothers' experience of child loss and identifies a need for more research on the downstream mental and physical health risks associated with parental bereavement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Smith-Greenaway
- Sociology & Spatial Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | | | | | - Emilio Zagheni
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
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Smith-Greenaway E, Weitzman A. Sibling mortality burden in low-income countries: A descriptive analysis of sibling death in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0236498. [PMID: 33052952 PMCID: PMC7556453 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In high-income countries, emerging research suggests sibling bereavement can have significant health and life course consequences for young people. Yet, we know far less about its burden in lower-income countries. Due to higher fertility and mortality in lower-income countries, the level, timing, intensity, and circumstances surrounding sibling mortality are likely to follow patterns distinct from those in higher-income settings. Thus, in this study, we offer a descriptive overview of sibling death in 43 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Specifically, we analyze Demographic and Health Survey data from nationally representative samples of 352,930 15- to 34-year-old women, born between 1985 and 2003, to document experiences of sibling death before age 25. On average, roughly one-third of individuals report a deceased sibling in these countries; estimates reach 40-50% of respondents in multiple African countries, particularly those that have experienced conflict and war. Although some sibling deaths occurred before the focal respondent was born, most bereaved individuals recalled a death during their lifetime-often in late childhood/early adolescence. High proportions of bereaved respondents report multiple sibling deaths, highlighting the clustering of deaths within families. Even so, bereaved individuals tend to come from large families and thus frequently have a comparable number of surviving siblings as people who never experienced a sibling die. Together, the results offer a window into global inequality in childhood experiences, and they attest to the need for research that explores the implications of sibling mortality for young people in world regions where the experience is concentrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Smith-Greenaway
- Department of Sociology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Abigail Weitzman
- Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States of America
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Donnelly R, Umberson D, Hummer RA, Garcia MA. Race, death of a child, and mortality risk among aging parents in the United States. Soc Sci Med 2020; 249:112853. [PMID: 32088513 PMCID: PMC7423689 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Revised: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The death of a child is a stressful and traumatic life event that has been linked to increased mortality risk among parents. Tragically, black parents are significantly more likely than white parents to lose a child in the United States; however, prior research has not addressed this racial disadvantage in relation to parents' mortality risk. In this study, we focus on the racial context of the United States to suggest that black parents already face higher mortality rates compared to white parents, and the unequal burden of child death adds to their mortality risk. Using discrete-time event history models, we consider whether the death of a child by midlife is associated with increased mortality risk for black parents and for white parents in mid- to later-life using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; 1996-2016). Descriptive results show that by midlife, black parents, especially black mothers, experience substantially higher child mortality compared with white parents. At the same time, we find that losing a child prior to midlife is associated with heightened mortality risk for aging black mothers and white mothers. Controlling for educational attainment explains the association between child death and parental mortality risk among white mothers, whereas heightened biopsychosocial and behavioral risk factors explain the association for black mothers. Overall, the death of a child is associated with increased mortality risk for black mothers and for white mothers, but the processes linking child death to parental mortality seem to differ for black and white parents. These findings have implications for policies and interventions that address increased mortality risk for parents following the death of a child.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Donnelly
- Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University, United States.
| | - Debra Umberson
- Department of Sociology and Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, United States
| | - Robert A Hummer
- Department of Sociology and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Michael A Garcia
- Department of Sociology and Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, United States
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Dyregrov A, Gjestad R, Dyregrov K. Parental Relationships following the Loss of a Child. JOURNAL OF LOSS & TRAUMA 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/15325024.2019.1666482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Atle Dyregrov
- Center for Crisis Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Rolf Gjestad
- Research Department, Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Kari Dyregrov
- Center for Crisis Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Welfare and Participation, Faculty of Social Sciences, Western University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
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