Grief & Bereavement Key Facts

According to the Institute of Medicine, the death of a child is one of the greatest and most enduring stresses a person can experience.¹

Parents are likely to suffer from health, social, and economic challenges for, on average, 18 years following the death of a child (funding for this study ended at year 18).²

Scientific evidence indicates that bereaved parents are more likely to suffer more depressive symptoms, poorer well-being, less purpose in life, more health complications, marital disruption, psychiatric hospitalization, and even premature death for both mothers and fathers as early as age 40.^2,3,4,5,6

By age 60, nine percent of Americans have experienced the death of a child. By 70, 15 percent of American parents have lost a child. By age 80, 18 percent of American parents have experienced the death of a child.⁷

Twenty-nine percent of black families report the death of a child, 20 percent of Hispanic families report the death of a child, 17 percent of white families report the death of a child.⁷

Most bereaved parents experience long-term mental health related issues following the death of a child and are at particularly high risk for depression and anxiety.³

Bereaved parents are at an increased risk for marital strain after experiencing the death of a child.²

Some grief is extended and profound; this is more commonly known as complicated or prolonged grief. While it is relatively rare across the world, with a prevalence of 2-3 percent from all forms of grief, bereaved parents have high rates of complicated grief measured at 30 percent.⁸

Parents are not alone; sibling loss, at any age, is poorly understood.

Seven percent of young American adults will have experienced the death of a sibling during childhood or early adulthood.⁹

Sibling death in childhood is associated with a 71 percent increased all-cause mortality risk among bereaved persons.¹⁰

Experience the death of a loved one during childhood or adolescence has long term effects on biopsychosocial pathways affecting health.^{11,12, 13, 14}

The death of a sibling negatively effects adult socioeconomic outcomes, particularly during school years. Bereaved siblings have higher high school dropout rates, lower college attendance and lower test scores.⁹

Sisters are far more affected than brothers in terms of more severe reductions in human capital, residential/family status and socioeconomic outcomes after experiencing a sibling’s death during childhood.⁹

A surviving sibling’s ability to cope and function may be influenced by the bereavement experience of the parents.⁹

Researchers hypothesize that experiencing the death of a sibling at a young age affects the surviving siblings’ psychological development. Observed behavioral changes among surviving siblings include social withdrawal and aggression.¹⁵

Despite the evidence, sibling death is not considered a risk factor in the Adverse Child Experiences risk assessment.¹⁶

Two million American minor children have a deceased biological mother or father.¹⁸

Bereaved black children are less likely to participate and receive the financial benefits of Social Security Income.¹⁹

Young children are more likely to be expelled from school, repeat a grade, less likely to be in gifted education programs and have a disability.¹⁸

The earlier in life the child lost a parent, the more profound the impact.¹⁸

Adults with deceased parents have lower levels of economic well-being, regardless of the adult’s age.¹⁸

Adults who lose their mother are more likely to experience psychological distress and declines in physical health. Older adults who lost their father are more likely to increase alcohol consumption and declines in physical health.¹⁹

Black Americans are at higher risk for experiencing the death of a sibling or child compared to white Americans.¹⁷

Black Americans are at greater risk for losing a sibling compared to whites through their 80s.¹⁷

Black Americans’ likelihood of losing a sibling compared to whites increases with age.¹⁷

Historical data show that black Americans were 20 percent more likely than whites to lose a sibling by age 10.¹⁷

Black Americans were 50 percent more likely to lose a sibling by age 60.¹⁷

Black Americans were two and a half times more likely to lose a child by the age of 20.¹⁷

Black Americans were three times more likely than whites to lose a child by the time they reached 50-70 years of age.¹⁷

Seventy-four percent of husbands and 67 percent of wives were hospitalized at least once in nine years following the death of their spouse.²⁰

Forty-nine percent of husbands and 30 percent of wives died in the nine years following the death of their spouse.,²⁰

According to a 2015 New England Journal of Medicine review, newly bereaved individuals experience: “dysphoria, anxiety, depression, and anger, may be associated with physiological changes such as an increased heart rate or blood pressure, increased cortisol levels, sleep disturbance, and changes in the immune system.”⁸

The New England Journal of Medicine article went on to state that “the early bereavement period has been associated with increased risks of health problems such as myocardial infarction, Takotsubo (stress) cardiomyopathy, or both. The death of a loved one is also associated with an increased risk of the development of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders.”⁸