Parental Death and the Impact on Grieving Children: A Comparison of Homicide or Suicide and Natural or Accidental Deaths
Year: 2000
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study examined the impact of parental death by homicide or suicide on child survivors. Two groups representing grieving children who experienced a parental death by homicide or suicide (N = 19) and children who experienced a natural or accidental parental death (N = 19) were compared. Children in the two groups were matched for age and gender. Scores from a screening instrument, developed by William Worden (1996) to identify grieving children at risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties, were used to compare these groups. No significant differences were found between the two groups for the total screener score and five of six predictor variables. One predictor variable, depression of the surviving parent, was an exception to this pattern. Surviving parents in the homicide/suicide group reported significantly higher levels of depression than did those in the natural/accidental group. These findings and possibilities for future research are discussed.
Author: Brandy Liebscher
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W791037306