Am J Psychiatry 1993; 150:511-513
Copyright © 1993 by American Psychiatric Association
Psychosocial functioning in children after the death of a parent
MA Fristad, R Jedel, RA Weller and EB Weller
Department of Psychiatry, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210-1228.
Eight weeks after the death of a parent, children from stable families (N =
38) were compared to depressed inpatients (N = 38) and normal children (N =
19). School behavior, interest in school, peer involvement, peer enjoyment,
and self-esteem were similar for bereaved and normal children. Bereaved
children functioned significantly better than depressed inpatients. As a
group, the bereaved children from stable families did not experience
significant, acute psychosocial dysfunction.
