Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0002-4456-1892
Defense Date
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Marcia Winter
Abstract
Childhood bereavement is a significant public health issue and the most distressing form of childhood trauma. The death of a parent can disrupt the course of a children's development and potentially predispose them to enduring adverse mental health outcomes, such as depression, intrusive grief, and suicidality. Recognizing grief as a dynamic process, theories have suggested that children’s unique coping and perceptions of experience can contribute to variations in individual adaptations to the death and the onset of mental health problems. The goals of this study were to (a) use latent profile analysis to empirically group recently bereaved children into distinct profiles based on their coping and perceptions of experience processes, and (b) use those profiles as predictors of depressive symptoms, intrusive grief, and suicidality at the one- and six-year follow-up assessments. Participants were 244 children ages eight through 16 at baseline (M = 11.39; SD = 2.43; 53% male; 67% White) who recently experienced the death of a parent (between four and 30 months following the death; M = 10.81 months; SD = 6.35). The latent profile analysis detected three distinct profiles of child coping and perception of experience processes: Risk, Resilient, and Mixed. The profiles predicted symptoms of depression at the one-and six-year assessments. To clarify, the Risk profile showed higher symptoms of depression at the one-year assessment compared to those in the Resilient and Mixed profiles and, counterintuitively, the Resilient profile showed higher levels of depressive symptoms at the six-year assessment. Findings demonstrate the utility of person-centered approaches for understanding children's adaptation to a parental death and explain heterogeneity in depressive symptoms. This study contributes to childhood bereavement theory and offers direction for future research.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
7-24-2024