Parental Death and Subjective Age

Indelible Imprints from Early in the Life Course

Bibliographic Data

ID2274866
AuthorsM H Schafer (0000-0002-8385-5068, Purdue University West Lafayette, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume79
Issue1
Pages75-97
Publication date2009-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Inquiry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0245 • E-ISSN: 1475-682X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1475-682x.2008.00270.x
OpenAlexW2111717624
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited45

Past research suggests that sustaining a young identity helps adults maintain a greater sense of well-being. The experience of subjective aging, however, is not a spontaneous phenomenon, but stems from lifelong developmental experiences. Drawing from writings on the life course and self-concept, I consider how parental death in childhood shapes subjective age in adulthood. To examine the effects of maternal and paternal death on subjective age, I employ the Midlife Development in the United States Study (MIDUS). A series of linear regression analyses indicates that maternal death during childhood is associated with an older subjective age in adulthood, death of a father does not have a similar influence on subjective age, and that the effect on subjective age is stronger if maternal death occurred during childhood than during other periods of the life course. The findings highlight interconnections between timing of transitions in the life course, linked lives, and the development of self-concept. Subjective age in adulthood seems to hinge on important biographical experiences from childhood, such as parental death, though the processes differ by the gender of the deceased parent

Developmental psychology · Early adulthood · Late childhood · Life course approach · Young adult · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Health disparities and outcomes · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology

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