Authors

Kathryn H Howell, Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee
Danielle N Shapiro, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Christopher M Layne, University of California, Los Angeles
Julie B Kaplow, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor

Individual and psychosocial mechanisms of adaptive functioning in parentally bereaved children

Publication Date

1-1-2015

Journal

Journal of Death Studies

DOI

10.1080/07481187.2014.951497

PMID

25848701

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

1-2015

Published Open-Access

no

Keywords

avoidance, behavioral symptoms, bereavement, child behavior/psychology, female, humans, male, psychological models, parent-child relations, parental death, religion, social adjustment, psychological stress

Abstract

The authors examined factors theorized to contribute to adaptive functioning in 56 parentally bereaved children (age 7-13) who had lost their caregiver within the previous 6 months. Adaptive functioning, defined as falling below clinical threshold levels on all measures of depression, posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and internalizing/externalizing symptoms, characterized 57% of the sample. Linear mixed modeling revealed that children in the adaptive functioning group had lower mean scores on avoidant coping and higher mean scores on coping efficacy, religiosity, parental positive reinforcement, and parental empathy. Findings suggest that adaptive functioning following parental loss is related to both child-intrinsic factors and child-extrinsic factors.