The Long Term Effects of Childhood Bereavement: Impact on Roles as Mothers

Abstract

This study explored the effects of early maternal bereavement on future maternal functioning by comparing life experiences of twenty-eight mothers whose mother died in childhood or adolescence with twenty-three women who lived with both parents through adolescence. The bereaved participants showed more severe symptoms of depression, including suicidality, in adolescence. Given this level of depression, expectations were that they would have difficulty as parents. The bereaved women worried more about their own death, were overprotective, and pushed harder to be perfect, but there were no significant differences between the groups on three measures of parental functioning. It is hypothesized that parenting presented an opportunity for resolution of earlier developmental deficits and provided an impetus for mourning to proceed.