Early Life Parental Bereavement and Health Resilience: The 'Cushioning Effect' of Social Ties

Michael Lund , Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Parental bereavement during early childhood has been associated with premature mortality and negative health outcomes. However, there has been limited research on factors that can mitigate the adverse health impacts of parental loss. Specifically, this study investigates how social capital, measured as county-level religious concentration in the US from 1850 to 1950 and linked to individuals through the genealogical database Geni.com, cushions the adverse effects of parental bereavement on survival at different life stages. The study revealed a significant timing gradient in the effects of maternal and paternal bereavement. Maternal bereavement had a much larger impact on infant survival (13%) compared to paternal bereavement (3%). The cushioning effect was most pronounced in cases of maternal bereavement and infant survival, with the probability of survival in high social capital contexts resembling that of non-bereaved infants. Social capital also had a cushioning effect on childhood survival in the case of paternal bereavement.

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 Presented in Session P2. Health, Mortality, Ageing - Aperitivo