Maladaptive coping in adults who have experienced early parental loss and grief counseling.
This study compares maladaptive coping, measured as substance use, behavioral disengagement, self-blame, and emotional eating, among adults (>18 years) who have experienced early parental loss ( N = 1465 women, N = 331 men) with non-bereaved controls ( N = 515 women, N = 115 men). We also compared bereaved adults who received grief counseling ( N = 822 women, N = 190 men) with bereaved controls who had not ( N = 233 women, N = 66 men). Bereaved adults reported significantly more substance use, behavioral disengagement, and emotional eating than non-bereaved adults. Counseling participants reported significantly more substance use and self-blame than non-participants. Our results suggest that early loss may negatively impact the development of adulthood coping.
1 Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Denmark.
Beverley Lim
BL
Høeg
1 Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Denmark.
Charlotte W
CW
Appel
1 Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Denmark.
Annika B
AB
von Heymann-Horan
1 Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Denmark.
Kirsten
K
Frederiksen
1 Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Denmark.|2 Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark.
Christoffer
C
Johansen
3 Danish Cancer Society, Denmark.
Per
P
Bøge
3 Danish Cancer Society, Denmark.
Annemarie
A
Dencker
4 Center for Crisis Psychology, Norway.
Atle
A
Dyregrov
5 University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Birgit B
BB
Mathiesen
1 Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Denmark.
Pernille E
PE
Bidstrup
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003376:Counseling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003643:Death; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D000067073:Psychological Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
children; coping; counseling; grief; parental loss