Abstract
Objective: This study examined bereavement-related risk markers (number of deaths, cause of death, and relationship to deceased) of mental and behavioral health problems (suicidal thoughts or behaviors, self-injury, depression, posttraumatic stress, and substance use) in a national sample of clinic-referred bereaved adolescents. Method: Participants included 1281 bereaved youth aged 12–21 years (M=15, SD=1.8; 62.1% female), from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Core Data Set. Results: Generalized linear mixed-effects regression models controlling for demographics and other traumas revealed that youth bereaved by multiple deaths had higher posttraumatic stress scores than youth bereaved by a single death (Estimated difference ±SE=3.36 ± 1.11, p=0.003). Youth bereaved by suicide were more likely to report experiencing suicidal thoughts or behaviors (AOR=1.68, p=0.049) and alcohol use (AOR=2.33, p<0.001) than youth bereaved by natural causes. Youth bereaved by homicide were at greater risk for substance use than youth bereaved by natural death (AOR=1.76, p=0.02). Compared to parentally bereaved youth, youth who lost a peer were more likely to use alcohol (AOR=2.32, p=0.02) or other substances (AOR=2.41, p=0.01); in contrast, parentally bereaved youth were more likely to experience depression compared to those who experienced the death of an adult relative or unrelated adult (range of AOR: 0.40 to 0.64, p-values<0.05). Conclusion: These bereavement-related contextual factors can serve as early markers of mental and behavioral health problems among bereaved youth.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 88-96 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2021 |
Funding
This manuscript was developed under grant numbers 2U79SM054284-12S (PI: Pynoos) and SM062111 and SM16008 (PI: Kaplow) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). We would also like to acknowledge the 56 sites within the National Child Traumatic Stress Network that have contributed data to the Core Data Set and the children and families who have contributed to our growing understanding of child traumatic stress. Drs. Kaplow, Layne and Pynoos receive royalties from Cambridge University Press for their book, Trauma and Grief Component Therapy for Adolescents: A modular approach to treating traumatized and bereaved youth. Drs. Steinberg and Pynoos are Chief Science Officer and Chief Medical Officer, respectively, of Behavioral Health Innovations, LLC, a company designed to develop and distribute evidence-based assessment tools for traumatized and bereaved youth. Drs. Kaplow and Layne receive payment from Behavioral Health Innovations, LLC for sales of their measure, the Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder (PCBD) Checklist. All remaining co-authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, (Grant/Award Number: “2U79SM054284-12S,” “SM062111,” “SM16008”).
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health