Effects of Parental Death on Children

Parental death can have serious effects on children; indeed, in comparison with other forms of family dissolution and disruption, parental death has consistently been found to be the strongest stressor on children (Sandler, Reynolds, Kliewer & Ramirez, 1992). Many of these effects can linger well into adulthood. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the effects of parental death on children. The review looks at both short-term and long-term effects; it concludes with treatment considerations.

In the first-year period following the death of parent, children can experience diverse emotional and behavioral effects. One of these was examined by Sanchez, Fristad, Weller and Weller (1994) who assessed anxiety symptoms present immediately following parental death and approximately eight weeks later using a sample of 38 prepubertal children. Comparison groups included 38 hospitalized depressed children and 19 normal children.

Bereaved children and parents were administered the Grief Interview and all were administered standard diagnostic interviews. While no bereaved children met DSM criteria for any anxiety disorder, anxiety regarding other family members dying was reported in 55 percent of bereaved children immediately after death and in 63 percent approximately eight weeks later. What these findings show is that fear can actually intensify over the first few weeks following the death. However, it was observed that th

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most cases, it was found that parents were also somatizing. Harris (1991) followed 11 healthy adolescents (aged 1318 years) through the year following parental death. Semi-structured interviews were used in combination with standardized measures collected at 6 weeks, 7 months, and 13 months following parental death. Teacher reports and parent interviews and reports provided additional information. Findings indicated that initial responses to the death were characterized by intense emotional, cognitive, physical, and behavioral reactions associated with impaired school performance, strained peer relations, and sleep disturbances. Stress related symptoms were prominent and sustained. It was further noted that overall, subjects reported a higher sustained degree of distress than adult children following the loss of a parent. Harris' (1991) study brings up the important point that parental death can also affect children's performance and behavior at school. In this regard, studies of parental death and school behavior/performance have shown that outward signs of grief at school can include daydreaming, outbursts, declining grades, absenteeism, and incomplete work (Marta, 1996). Long-Term Effects Often, if the short-term e

Category: Psychology - E