Factors associated with filial grief following the death of an elderly parent

Am J Orthopsychiatry. 1991 Apr;61(2):307-13. doi: 10.1037/h0079240.

Abstract

Initial and residual grief reactions were assessed in a group of 220 adults, aged 35-60, who had experienced the death of a parent one to five years previously. Reactions to the loss were found to have sustained effects on social and emotional functioning, with lack of filial autonomy in the adult parent-child relationship and unexpectedness of the parent's death emerging as the strongest predictors of unresolved grief. Theoretical implications are considered and directions for further research are proposed.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Grief*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Object Attachment
  • Parent-Child Relations*
  • Personality Development