Associations among mother-child communication quality, childhood maladaptive grief, and depressive symptoms

Authors

Danielle N. Shapiro, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Kathryn H. Howell, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Julie B Kaplow, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Publication Date

8-27-2013

Journal

Death Studies

DOI

10.1080/07481187.2012.738771

PMID

24524545

Published Open-Access

no

Keywords

adaptation, psychological, adolescent, child, preschool, depression, female, grief, humans, male, mother-child relations, mothers, parental death

Abstract

Mother-child communication may be an important factor in determining children's grief reactions following the death of the father. Using observational methods, the current study suggests that mothers' warm, sensitive, and engaged communication is associated with lower levels of maladaptive grief and depressive symptoms in children whose fathers have recently died. Further, mothers who showed a blunted emotional response to the loss, illustrated by unusually few depressive symptoms, were less effective at using these strategies than mothers with a more "normative" reaction. Findings suggest that mother-child communication may be an important intervention target for bereaved families.