1. The Influence of Parental Loss Upon Youth within Today’s Society
Nicole Rudderow
The Pennsylvania State University, Berks
Background
Objectives
Methods
Results Results
Conclusions
References
• Due to the stress and detrimental impact
that death can have on an individual, a
person’s mental health may be impaired
when one losses a parent.
• Tyrka et al. (2008) found that participants
who had experienced parental death,
separation, or desertion had significantly
higher rates of depressive and anxiety
disorders than participants who had not
gone through one of the three life
experiences.
• The study examined the relationship
between parental loss and depressive and
anxiety symptoms in young adults.
• Previous research suggests parental loss,
along with factors such as attachment, life
stressors, and familial support, plays a vital
role in the development of a child.
Participants: N= 197 (M=24.29 SD=11.37)
Procedure: A questionnaire consisting of
the following self report measures- :
• Demographic Information
• DAS 21 Depression, Anxiety, and Stress
Scale
• Familial Issues
• Environmental Changes
• Occupational Satisfaction/Complications
Tyrka, A. R., Wier, L., Price, L. H., Ross, N. S., & Carpenter, L. L. (2008). Childhood parental loss and adult
psychopathology: Effects of loss characteristics and contextual factors. International Journal of Psychiatry in
Medicine, 38, 329-344.
Nigg, J. T., & Nagel, B. J. (2016). Commentary: Risk taking, impulsivity, and externalizing problems in
adolescent development—Commentary on crone et al. 2016. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57(3),
369-370.
• Participants were arranged into different groups for
analyzing the data:
1. Nuclear: experienced no divorce, no absent parent, or no parental death
2. Non-nuclear: experienced divorce, an absent parent, or parental death
3. Stable: experienced no moving before the age of 18
4. College: experienced moving away for college
5. Unstable: experienced moving for college and moving before the age of 18
• Depression and anxiety symptoms were significantly higher
in the past, than participant’s current symptoms F(1,188)=
44.07, p < .001, η2=0.19.
• This data may suggest that hardship and
familial instability have a affect upon the
youth of today’s society.
• Overall results indicated the depression and
anxiety symptoms were worse in the past,
suggesting a sense of resiliency of
participants (Nigg, & Nagel 2016).
• Participants whose environment had changed
throughout their childhood, may be more
susceptible for depression and anxiety
symptoms to develop.
• There was a trend for participants in the Unstable group
to have higher rates of depression and anxiety
symptoms overall, but they did not differ significantly
from the other two groups F(2,191)= 0.463, p=.63.
• Depression measured in the present and in the past did not
interact with Nuclear (p=.98) or Stable (p=.98) participants.
• Participants in the Non-nuclear group had both higher
depression and anxiety symptoms scores than participants
in the Nuclear group , but were not significantly different,
t(192) =1.43, p=0.16.