Changes in parents' mental distress after the violent death of an adolescent or young adult child: a longitudinal prospective analysis.
This study examined changes in bereaved parents' mental distress following the violent deaths of their 12- to 28-year-old children.  A community-based sample of 171 bereaved mothers and 90 fathers was recruited by a review of medical examiner records.  Data were collected 4, 12, and 24 months post-death.  Repeated measures analysis of variance showed significant reductions in 8 of 10 measures of mental distress among mothers and 4 of 10 for fathers, with the most change for both genders occurring between 4 and 12 months post-death.  During the 2nd year of bereavement, mothers' symptoms continued to decline, whereas fathers, who started out with less distress than mothers, reported slight increases in 5 of 10 symptom domains.  Nonetheless, 2 years after the deaths, mothers' mental distress scores were up to 5 times higher than those of "typical" U.S. women and fathers' scores were up to 4 times higher than "typical" U.S. men.  Of the 7 intervening variables examined, higher scores on self-esteem and self-efficacy predicted lower distress for both mothers and fathers 4, 12, and 24 months post-death. Repressive coping was predictive of distress among fathers.  It was concluded that violent death bereavement has sustained, distressing consequences on parents of children who die as a result of accidents, homicides, and suicide.
Murphy
S A
SA
Department of Psychosocial and Community Health, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Das Gupta
A
A
Cain
K C
KC
Johnson
L C
LC
Lohan
J
J
Wu
L
L
Mekwa
J
J
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001601:Bereavement; D002648:Child; D003645:Death, Sudden; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013997:Time Factors; D014754:Violence