Childhood Bereavement, Adverse and Positive Childhood Experiences, and Flourishing among Chinese Young Adults

Krista P. Woodward, Zhiyuan Yu, Wenyi Chen, Tingting Chen, Dylan B. Jackson, Terrinieka W. Powell and Lin Wang ()
Additional contact information
Krista P. Woodward: Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Zhiyuan Yu: Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, 525N Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Wenyi Chen: Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, 525N Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Tingting Chen: Xin Hua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Dylan B. Jackson: Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Terrinieka W. Powell: Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Lin Wang: School of Nursing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Childhood bereavement (CB) resulting from a parent or primary caregiver death is associated with a range of adverse outcomes. Little is known about the association between CB and adult flourishing in the context of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and positive childhood experiences (PCEs). In a cross-sectional observational study, we examined how ACEs, PCEs, and adult flourishing differs by self-reported CB history among 9468 Chinese young adults (18–35 years), of which 4.3% experienced CB ( n = 409). Data collection included convenience sampling among university students in Mainland China. Respondents voluntarily completed an online survey between August and November 2020. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regressions examined frequencies and differences in ACEs, PCEs, and flourishing by the history of CB controlling for a few demographic covariates. Bereaved individuals reported significantly higher ACEs and lower PCEs. The odds of experiencing emotional, physical, and sexual abuse as well as household substance abuse, parental mental illness, and parental incarceration ranged from 2.0–5.2 times higher for bereaved individuals. Bereaved participants also reported significant negative relationships with Flourishing Index (β = −0.35, t = −4.19, p < 0.001) and Secure Flourishing Index (β = −0.40, t = −4.96, p < 0.001). Consistent with previous research, our findings demonstrate the lasting effects of CB on well-being. We discuss study implications for ACEs and PCEs screening and surveillance as well as grief counseling to promote flourishing among bereaved youth in China and beyond.

Keywords: childhood bereavement; childhood grief; adverse childhood experiences; positive childhood experiences; adult flourishing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/5/4631/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/5/4631/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:5:p:4631-:d:1088730

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().