Changes in parents' mental distress after the violent death of an adolescent or young adult child: A longitudinal prospective analysis

This study examined changes in bereaved parents' mental distress following the violent deaths of their 12- to 28-year-old children. A community-based sample of 171 bereaved mothers and 90 fathers was recruited by a review of medical examiner records. Data were collected 4, 12, and 24 months post-dea th. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed significant reductions in 8 of 10 measures of mental distress among mothers and 4 of 10 for fathers, with the most change far both genders occurring between 4 and 12 months po st-death. During the 2nd year of bereavement, mothers' symptoms continued t o decline, whereas fathers, who started out with less distress than mothers , reported slight increases in 5 of IO symptom domains. Nonetheless, 2 year s after the deaths, mothers' mental distress scores were up to 5 times high er than those of "typical" U.S. women and fathers' scores were up to 4 time s higher than "typical" U.S. men. Of the 7 intervening variables examined, higher scores on self-esteem and self-efficacy predicted lower distress for both mothers and fathers 4, 12, and 24 months post-death. Repressive copin g was predictive of distress among fathers. It war concluded that violent d eath bereavement has sustained, distressing consequences on parents of chil dren who die as a result of accidents, homicides, and suicide.