The loss of a parent is ‘harder for boys than girls’, new research finds

The loss of a parent has a greater impact on boys than girls, according to a large, long term study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

The study examined registry data from Finland to see if experiencing the death of a parent before the age of 21 was associated with any of several measures of poor mental health and labour market outcomes between the ages of 26 to 30 years. It also looked at what influence, if any, gender might have.

The journal, part of the British Medical Journal stable of publications, reported that the loss of a parent was strongly linked to worse mental health and lower earnings in adulthood for both sexes. But boys were more likely to be impacted than girls.

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The researchers claimed that a previously published study had pointed to a link between premature parental death and a child’s subsequent health and prosperity. But they said no studies drew on high quality registry data, and few looked at the cumulative effects or the potential impact of gender.

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The researchers considered data from nearly one million Finns born between 1971 and 1986, who had reached at least the age of 30 by 2016.

Some 65,797 people had lost a parent before the age of 21, and this was associated with greater odds of a hospital admission for mental ill health than it was for those who experienced this after the age of 30.

Men were 70 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital; the equivalent figure for women was 52 per cent. Substance use disorders and intentional self-harm were the most common reasons for hospital admission.

Boys and young men who lost their mothers prematurely had nearly 2.5 times the odds of a hospital admission for intentional self-harm as those who lost their mothers in their 30s.

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Similarly, girls and young women who lost their father prematurely were around twice as likely to have a substance use disorder than those who hadn’t experienced this. Early maternal death was also associated with a substantial 88 per cent increase in stress disorders.

The use of medication for mental health disorders among those who lost a parent prematurely was between 18 per cent and 33 per cent higher for both sexes than for those who hadn’t experienced this. Sick leave was also more likely among both sexes.

Losing a parent before the age of 21 was also associated with fewer years of schooling, lower annual earnings, and more periods of unemployment at ages 26–30 for both sexes.

The estimated effects on earnings and employment were generally larger for men, among whom the early death of a father was associated with an almost 16.5 per cent reduction in annual earnings and 6% lower likelihood of regular employment. The corresponding estimates for women were 11% and 4%, respectively.

The study is available on https://jech.bmj.com