Early Parental Loss and Health Behavior Trajectories across the Transition to Adulthood

• In Event: 4167 - Section on Children and Youth Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Children & Youth Roundtable 2: Physical Health

Abstract

This study investigates whether and how early parental loss influences the development of health behaviors across the transition to adulthood. Using four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), I examine the impact of experiencing the death of a parent during childhood on trajectories of smoking, alcohol consumption, and weight status spanning adolescence to young adulthood. Findings indicate that early parental loss is associated with lower trajectories of alcohol consumption among parentally-bereaved respondents relative to their non-bereaved counterparts. Results also suggests that respondents who experienced an early parental loss may have higher initial levels of weight status than respondents who did not experience this event during childhood. These findings show that parent loss is not unilaterally deleterious to the health of bereaved children, and these experiences of early adversity could influence an avoidance of risky health behaviors at a critical stage in the life course during which habits and behaviors that enhance or undermine health take hold.

Author

• Renae Wilkinson, Baylor University