Clinical Trial: Long-term Consequences of Bereavement in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Observational

Official Title: Bereavement in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults. - A Study of Health and Psychosocial Well-being in Adults Who Have Experienced Early Parental Death

Brief Summary: The purpose of this study is to examine how the death of a parent as a child, adolescent or young adult affects health and psychosocial wellbeing in adult life and to evaluate the impact in adult life of counseling to children, adolescents and young adults who lost a parent.

Detailed Summary:

Early parental death experienced by 4% of the children in Western countries, is considered to be the most stressful and potentially harmful childhood life event and the health consequences may depend on the nature of the bereavement (e.g. relationship with bereaved), as well as by interpersonal (e.g. social support), intrapersonal (e.g. age and genetics), appraisal and coping factors. Studies have shown that children and adolescents have a greater risk of getting a psychiatric diagnose as well as psychological and social problems. Despite of the obvious consequences of losing a parent, there is a lack of systematic studies on the consequences later in life as well as studies that evaluate the counseling possibilities the children and adolescents are offered.

The study will investigate:

1. Long-term health effects of experiencing parental death as a child adolescent or young adult. Focus will be on psychiatric outcomes including depression, severe cardiovascular disease, suicide, suicide attempts, psychological well-being and health related behavior.
2. Long term effects of experiencing parental death as a child, adolescent or young adult on socioeconomic outcomes as education, employment, marital status/ cohabitation status and number of children/age when having children.
3. The long-term psychosocial and behavioral impact of psychological intervention programmes to children, adolescents and young adults who have experienced the death of a parent. Focus will be on: Depressive symptoms, quality of life, posttraumatic stress disorder, life style, relationship functioning, grief and spirituality.

A nationwide register based cohort of people born in Denmark will be established. L
Sponsor: Danish Cancer Society

Current Primary Outcome:

• Hospitalization for affective disorder [ Time Frame: Paticipants will be followed from age 15 until date of first hospitalization for an affective disorder, death, first emigration or end of follow up, an expected average of 12 years ]
  Danish Psychiatric Central Register
• Use of antidepressive medication [ Time Frame: Paticipants will be followed from age 20 until date of second independantly prescription of antidepressive medication, death, first emigration or end of follow up, an expected average of 9 years ]
  The Danish National Prescription Registry
• Suicide [ Time Frame: Paticipants will be followed from age 18 until date of suicide, other causes of death, first emigration or end of follow up, an expected average of 15 years ]
  Danish Register of Causes of Death
• Severe cardiovascular disease [ Time Frame: Paticipants will be followed from age 18 until date of first hospitalization for severe cardiovascular disease, death, first emigration or end of follow up, an expected average of 15 years ]
  The Danish National Patient Register
• Education level [ Time Frame: Participants will be followed from age 18 until highest attained educational level, death, first emigration or end of follow up, an average of 20 years ]
  The Register-based System of Demographics and Social Statistics in Denmark
• Employment [ Time Frame: Employment status at age 30, death, first emigration or end o
  
  

  Original Primary Outcome: Same as current
  
  

  Current Secondary Outcome:

  • Relationship functioning [ Time Frame: Participants will be answering the questionnaire once (not at a specifik age but between 18-40 years) ]
    Quality of relationship and intimacy, Self-reported questionnaire
  • Support when losing a parent [ Time Frame: Participants will be answering the questionnaire once (not at a specifik age but between 18-40 years) ]
    Self-report items
  • Lifestyle (smoking, alcohol, exercise) [ Time Frame: Participants will be answering the questionnaire once (not at a specifik age but between 18-40 years) ]
    Self-reported questionnaire
  • Coping [ Time Frame: Participants will be answering the questionnaire once (not at a specifik age but between 18-40 years) ]
    Brief cope, Self-reported questionnaire
  
  
  

  Original Secondary Outcome: Same as current
  
  Information By: Danish Cancer Society
  

  Dates:
  Date Received: October 11, 2011
  Date Started: September 2009
  Date Completion:
  Last Updated: August 11, 2014
  Last Verified: August 2014