TY - JOUR
T1 - Long-term effects of experiencing childhood parental death on mental and physical health
T2 - A NESDA study
AU - van Heijningen, Carline J. M.
AU - van Berkel, Sheila R.
AU - Rosinda, Selena J.
AU - Penninx, Brenda W. J. H.
AU - Alink, Lenneke R. A.
AU - Elzinga, Bernet M.
N1 - Funding Information: The infrastructure for the NESDA study ( www.nesda.nl ) has been funded through the Geestkracht program of the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw, grant number 10‐000‐1002) and by participating universities and mental health care organisations (Amsterdam University Medical Centers [location VUmc], GGZ inGeest, Leiden University Medical Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Dimence, Lentis, GGZ Friesland, GGZ Drenthe, Rob Giel Onderzoekcentrum). The writing of this article was supported by the Leiden University Fund (LUF; Leo Moret Fonds grant number W18602‐5‐103) through a grant awarded to prof. dr. Lenneke R. A. Alink. We would like to thank Harold Nefs for statistical consultation. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Stress and Health published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Experiencing parental death during childhood is an adverse, potentially traumatic experience that may have substantial long-term effects on mental and physical well-being. The current study was based on data of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety to investigate mental health (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and suicidal ideation) and physical health outcomes (i.e., metabolic syndrome, telomere length, and perceived physical health) as well as health behaviour (i.e., smoking status, alcohol use, and physical activity) to provide more insight into the long-term outcomes after experiencing childhood parental death (CPD). For individuals who experienced CPD, we also investigated the role of loss-related factors in these associations, namely the age of the child when their parent passed away and gender of the deceased parent. Interviews and questionnaires were completed by adults between 18 and 65 years; 177 participants experienced CPD (mean age = 45.19, 61.6% female) and 2463 did not (mean age = 41.38, 66.6% female). Results showed no overall association between the experience of CPD and mental and physical health indices and health behaviour. Within the CPD group, experiencing CPD at a younger age was related to a higher likelihood of suicidal ideation. These findings seem to illustrate a general positive adjustment with regard to long-term health functioning after experiencing such an impactful life event. Future research should focus on individual differences in terms of adaptation, especially elucidating on contextual factors after the loss, such as the kind of support that is or is not provided by the surviving parent and/or other important individuals.
AB - Experiencing parental death during childhood is an adverse, potentially traumatic experience that may have substantial long-term effects on mental and physical well-being. The current study was based on data of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety to investigate mental health (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and suicidal ideation) and physical health outcomes (i.e., metabolic syndrome, telomere length, and perceived physical health) as well as health behaviour (i.e., smoking status, alcohol use, and physical activity) to provide more insight into the long-term outcomes after experiencing childhood parental death (CPD). For individuals who experienced CPD, we also investigated the role of loss-related factors in these associations, namely the age of the child when their parent passed away and gender of the deceased parent. Interviews and questionnaires were completed by adults between 18 and 65 years; 177 participants experienced CPD (mean age = 45.19, 61.6% female) and 2463 did not (mean age = 41.38, 66.6% female). Results showed no overall association between the experience of CPD and mental and physical health indices and health behaviour. Within the CPD group, experiencing CPD at a younger age was related to a higher likelihood of suicidal ideation. These findings seem to illustrate a general positive adjustment with regard to long-term health functioning after experiencing such an impactful life event. Future research should focus on individual differences in terms of adaptation, especially elucidating on contextual factors after the loss, such as the kind of support that is or is not provided by the surviving parent and/or other important individuals.
KW - NESDA
KW - childhood parental death
KW - long-term health outcomes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174049155&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3322
DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3322
M3 - Article
C2 - 37830435
SN - 1532-3005
JO - STRESS AND HEALTH
JF - STRESS AND HEALTH
ER -