Summary
Based on their recent review of the literature, Crook and Eliot (1980) concluded that there is no sound evidence for a relationship between early parental death and adult depression. The present review considers two additional sources of data pertinent to their conclusion: research on severe depression and attempted suicide. While there are methodological shortcomings in this research, there is evidence to suggest that the severely depressed and suicide attempters have a relatively high incidence of early parental death.
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Nelson, G. Parental death during childhood and adult depression: Some additional data. Soc Psychiatry 17, 37–42 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00583891
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00583891