title: Gender differences in parental psychological distress following perinatal death or sudden infant death syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stress responses of bereaved parents (mothers 194, fathers 143) who experienced infant loss were compared with parents (mothers 203, fathers 157) with a live born child.
  
  
  METHODS
  Psychological distress using scales of anxiety, depression and alcohol use was compared at 2, 8, 15 and 30 months post-loss.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bereaved mothers showed significantly more anxiety/depression than controls at all four interviews. For bereaved fathers, anxiety/depression differed significantly from controls only at two months. Heavy alcohol use was significantly more prevalent at 2 and 30 months. Relative risks showed significant gender differences between bereaved parents at all four interviews for anxiety/depression. When this outcome was extended to include heavy drinking in addition to anxiety/depression, these differences diminished and were significant only at 2 and 8 months. CONCLUSION. Female responses are longer lasting and reflected by elevated levels of anxiety/depression. Male responses equally involve anxiety, depression and heavy alcohol consumption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Health, The University of Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Vance
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Boyle
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Najman
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Thearle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001601:Bereavement; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003643:Death; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013398:Sudden Infant Death; D013997:Time Factors