Childhood Parental Loss and Adult Depression: an Evaluation of Psychoanalytic, Attachment, and Sociological Theories.

Abstract

I review previous clinical and general population research on the relationship between childhood parental loss and adult depression, taking into account the methodological strength of the studies, as well as the definition of depression, and the age and sex compositions of the study samples. Clinical studies consistently support the existence of a relationship between parental separations, for reasons other than death, and adult depression. In contrast, general population studies support the existence of a relationship between parental death and adult depression. Explanations for this discrepancy are discussed. Using data from a general population survey of married men and women (N = 1755), I undertake an empirical analysis of the relationship between childhood parental loss and adult depression. I begin by considering four specifications of the relationship, based on sex, current age, age at the time of the loss, and sex of the lost parent. Two specifications emerge. The relationship between loss and depression exists only for women. Even when I consider non-depressive outcomes, the relationship is not significant among men. The other specification involves current age. Older women are more affected by childhood parental deaths than younger women. The opposite pattern holds for parental divorce. I then examine the importance of three types of factors in underst and ing the documented relationships: childhood home environment; adult life outcomes (socioeconomic status, relationship quality, and personality); and vulnerability to recent life events. Of the three, relationship quality is most strongly implicated. Women from divorced childhood homes report much lower levels of marital quality than other women. A similar, although weaker, pattern holds for parental deaths. These lower levels of marital quality explain a large percentage of the loss-depression relationship. Several objective adult life outcomes are also influenced by the experience of loss. Women from divorced homes marry at younger ages than other women, and are more likely to get divorced themselves and to report lower levels of current socioeconomic status. The results of this analysis demonstrate that the long-term effects of childhood parental loss are best understood within the context of the life-course. Future research should focus on explicating these life-course pathways of influence.