Adjustment to Loss among Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of the present investigation was to explore the adjustment of adolescents who had experienced the death of a parent relative to those who had experienced parental divorce. A 3 (type of loss: parental death, parental divorce, and control) × 3 (age: early, middle, late) × 2 (gender) Multivariate analysis of covariance with socioeconomic status and social desirability as covariates was performed on the subscales of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL). Main effects for type of loss indicated that the parental death and divorce groups, although not differing from each other, scored significantly higher than the control group on the HSCL subscales of Somatization, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Depression. In contrast, only the parental death group scored significantly higher on the HSCL Interpersonal Sensitivity subscale which measures uneasiness and negative expectations regarding personal communications as well as interpersonal inadequacy and inferiority. These results indicate that parental death and divorce losses impair the intrapersonal adjustment of adolescents. In addition, findings suggest that parental death is unique in that it disturbs perceptions of interpersonal relationships, a fact which may result in isolation and rob adolescents of needed support at a time when relationships with others (e.g., peers, parents, teachers) are critical to adjustment, well-being, and identity development.