Current Psychology

, Volume 33, Issue 4, pp 545–556 | Cite as

Parental Loss During Childhood and Outcomes on Adolescents’ Psychological Profiles: A Longitudinal Study

  • Luca Cerniglia
  • Silvia Cimino
  • Giulia Ballarotto
  • Gianluigi Monniello
Article
First Online:

Abstract

The loss of a parent during childhood is a traumatic experience that can bring about several difficulties in adaptation and psychopathological problems over time during the child’s development. The present study assesses the psychological functioning of a sample of non-referred pre-adolescents and adolescents and considers the impact of the loss of a significant caregiver on their current psychological profiles. Three groups of subjects were considered, as follows: Group A experienced loss between birth and 3 years of age; Group B experienced loss between 3 and 10 years of age; and Group C experienced no loss. The results show that there is a significant decrease in psychopathological risk and improvement in subjects’ scores in the transition from pre-adolescence to mid-late adolescence. Adolescents who have suffered the loss of a caregiver within the first three years of life, however, continue to report higher scores than the other two groups, denoting no improvement in their psychological welfare.

Keywords

Adolescence Loss Psychological profiles 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  • Luca Cerniglia
    • 1
  • Silvia Cimino
    • 2
  • Giulia Ballarotto
    • 2
  • Gianluigi Monniello
    • 3
  1. 1.International Telematic University UninettunoRomeItaly
  2. 2.Sapienza, University of RomeRomeItaly
  3. 3.Department of Pediatrics and Infantile NeuropsychiatrySapienza, University of RomeRomeItaly

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