Higher Self-Esteem Associated With Less Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Among Young Adults After the Loss of a Parent to Cancer—A Longitudinal Study

Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine associations between self-esteem and symptoms of anxiety and depression among young adults who lost a parent to cancer. Methods: Older adolescents and young adults, aged 16 to 28 years, who had lost their parent to cancer and had accepted an invitation to join a support group, completed a questionnaire 5 to 8 months after the loss and a similar questionnaire about 10 months later (follow-up). Of a total of 77 young adults who participated in the study, 56 completed both questionnaires. Self-esteem was measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Univariate and multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the associations. Result: Self-esteem was significantly associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression at baseline and at follow-up. Conclusion: This study reveals that self-esteem is a valuable explanatory variable, and that it is associated with both symptoms of anxiety and depression in bereavement. This new knowledge could be used to guide future support to parentally bereaved young adults.

A Narratologıcal Perspectıve On Death And Grıef İn Chıldren's Lıerature: “The Ghost Postman” Example

“The Ghost Postman” to be analyzed is a children's picture story book. Theadventure of a child in the process of mourning in this book, in which he accepts death by using hisimagination with the help of his mother, also carries a reference to sleep, which is the mostimportant door that opens to the subconscious. While the story was being told, the pictures werealso spoken. The subject of death, which is widely covered and general, is incomprehensible likeother abstract concepts in the world of children. Losing and mourning a loved one causes mentaltrauma, even for adults, while the loss of a parent seems more difficult for a child to understand andaccept. However, the child who looks at death from his own world, from the game window, acceptsthis fact more easily. Because he lives in a world with no borders, intertwined with dreams andreality, and he has decorated it with his dreams. In Ghost Postman, the child's exit from thismourning process is explained and made more evident with pictures. The theme of this story,written by Nurgul Atesh, is love, and it is intended to convey the message that people can overcomeall difficulties with the power of love, overcome the difficulties encountered, and turn negativitiesinto beauty by imagining.

The Impact of Parental Bereavement on Young People: A Thematic Analysis of Using Online Web Forums as a Method of Coping

A qualitative approach was used to explore how online web forums might facilitate recovery and the process of coping. Ten online web forums written by young people who have personally experienced the death of a parent formed the data of this study. Previous research suggests forum users do not receive the supportive reactions from face-to-face interactions that they desire. Thematic analysis found that forums created an environment where young people can process the bereavement of a parent. Forums allowed young people to use their experience of bereavement to positively support others with similar experiences. The findings imply that the process of using forums can positively impact individuals who have experienced the loss of a parent. This supports recommendations by professionals, to consider online forums as a coping strategy. This study presents one of the few analyses of web forums written by young people who have experienced parental bereavement.

Death of a parent during childhood and blood pressure in youth: a population-based cohort study of Swedish men

ObjectiveCompelling evidence suggests that childhood adversities are associated with an increased risk of hypertension in middle age and old age. The link between childhood adversities and blood pressure in youth is less clear. In this cohort study, we examined the association between death of a parent during childhood and blood pressure in early adulthood in men.SettingSweden.ParticipantsWe studied 48 624 men born in 1949–1951 who participated in the compulsory military conscription in 1969/1970 in Sweden. Information on death of a parent during childhood was obtained from population-based registers. Information on covariates was obtained from the questionnaire and the clinical examination completed at conscription and from population-based registers.Outcome measuresBlood pressure was measured at conscription according to standard procedures.ResultsThe multivariable least square means of systolic and diastolic blood pressure did not differ between bereaved (128.25 (127.04–129.46) and 73.86 (72.89–74.84) mm Hg) and non-bereaved study participants (128.02 (126.86–129.18) and 73.99 (73.06–74.93) mm Hg). Results were similar when considering the cause of the parent’s death, the gender of the deceased parent or the child’s age at loss. Loss of a parent in childhood tended to be associated with an increased hypertension risk (OR and 95% CI: 1.10 (1 to 1.20)); the association was present only in case of natural deaths.ConclusionWe found no strong support for the hypothesis that stress following the loss of a parent during childhood is associated with blood pressure or hypertension in youth in men.

Does Post-Traumatic Growth Follow Parental Death in Adulthood? An Empirical Investigation

This study looked at the loss of a parent in adulthood and whether this was followed by post-traumatic growth? Participants, 100 bereaved adults, from Pakistan and England, lost parents in the last 10 years. They completed three questionnaires. The study hypotheses were, first, that participants whose bereavement occurred more than five years ago would show significantly higher levels of post-traumatic growth. Second, participants with higher levels of post-traumatic growth would experience significantly higher grief scores. Thirdly, participants with higher levels of post-traumatic growth would show significantly higher levels of coping skills. Two hypotheses were rejected, only one received partial support. Yet, levels of post-traumatic growth were high in this sample. Post-traumatic growth does not follow every bereavement. The authors provide autoethnographic material to challenge this. Circumstances surrounding bereavement during the Covid-19 pandemic, are more likely to lead to increases in complicated grief reactions, rather than post-traumatic growth.

The Loss of a Parent to Suicide in Military Families

In this paper the authors explore the impact of loss of a parent to suicide on adolescents in military families using Marcia’s identity status theory and the Roy adaptation model (RAM). After describing a brief case study of a 13-year-old boy in a military family who lost his father in this manner, these two theories are applied to better understand his struggle to develop and maintain a healthy identity and adapt to numerous relocations, deployments, and then loss. The military family stressors are seen as weakening the resilience of children in such families, making them more vulnerable to the impact of parent loss. Implications for nurses and other healthcare professionals are discussed.

ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES REPORTED BY CUSTODIAL GRANDMOTHERS AND THEIR ADOLESCENT GRANDCHILDREN

The Risky Family Model postulates that adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are likely to be encountered across generations within custodial grandfamilies which, in turn, may adversely impact their overall well-being. The present study is a pioneering attempt to examine the patterns of ACEs self-reported by custodial grandmothers (CGM) and adolescent grandchildren (AGC) from the same families, and how their total ACE scores correlate with key physical and mental health outcomes. A total of 129 CGM-ACG dyads recruited for a nationwide RCT study completed separately at baseline the 10-item ACE-CDC and 4 items from the ACE-IQ, as well as various standardized measures of physical and emotional well-being. The most frequent ACEs reported by AGC were loss of a parent (60.5%), verbal abuse (58.1%), bullying by peers (46.5%), and living with someone jailed (45.0%). The predominant ACEs for CGM were bullying by peers (48.8%), verbal abuse (48.1%), living with a mentally ill person (34.1%), being touched sexually (29.5%), and loss of parent (29.5%). Only 10.1% of ACG and 15.5% of CGM reported 0 ACEs, whereas 65.1 % of ACG and 59% of CGM reported > 3 ACEs. For ACG, total ACE scores correlated significantly with externalizing (r=.32) and internalizing (r=.30) difficulties, self-esteem (r= -.28), loneliness (r=.27), school problems (r=.24), and physical health (r= -.26). For CGMs, anxiety (r=.23) and depression (r=.19) only were correlated significantly with total ACEs. We conclude that although both CGM and ACG reported alarmingly high levels of ACEs, different patterns and correlates exist between the generations. [Funded by R01AG054571]

Mourning My Mother: An Exploration of the Complex Emotions Elicited by the Terminal Illness of an Estranged Parent

In 2017, I learned that my estranged mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. This article explores the conflicting emotional responses I have had following the decision not to reconnect with my mother, not to provide care for her during her illness, and not to attend her funeral (when the time comes). This study combines my own creative explorations of child neglect, through autophenomenography, with examinations of autobiographical accounts of mother-daughter relationships and literature on family estrangement and the loss of a parent. I suggest that I already ‘read’ myself as a motherless daughter, and that caring, (re)mourning, and (re)grieving for my mother would entail reentering a dysfunctional dyad and opening up past wounds. There appear to be few resources to draw on regarding how to navigate this particular emotional terrain. This article does not intend to provide a prescriptive model for this type of loss, but rather aims at opening up for queer modes of grieving and mourning and suggests that, in some cases, the denial of care for an estranged parent translates into self-care and self-preservation.

Parental Death, Grief and Bereavement: A Qualitative Study of College Students Who Have a Parent with Cancer

Objective The loss of a parent with cancer is one of the most traumatic events a college student can face. The purpose of this study was to identify the main elements of bereavement experiences among college students in China who lost a parent with cancer. Methods A total of 18 college students volunteered to take part in three focus groups. Results Four themes were developed through content analysis: facing huge life’s changes, experiencing loss and suffering, challenges and coping strategies for facing parental death, and re-interpreting death. These four main themes were then divided into 15 sub-themes. Conclusions The analysis showed that parental death may negatively influence college students’ bereavement processes. Bereavement should include screening to aid in the recognition of high-risk adolescents through screening survey and screening interviews.