Coping With Child Loss: Its Impact on the Mental Health of Chinese Parents

Abstract

Using data from the 2011-2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, this research employs a two-way fixed effects model to investigate the impact of child loss on parental mental health. The findings indicate a significant decline in mental well-being among Chinese bereaved parents aged 45 to 65, as evidenced by elevated depression scores. Mechanism analysis reveals reduced emotional support from children and increased alcohol consumption, exacerbating mental health challenges. These effects persist regardless of the gender of the lost child and the gender of the parent, and such an adverse effect is found to exist for parents who lost biological children and those with a rural Hukou in China. Moreover, our study reveals that the pain of losing a child does not alleviate over time. These findings underscore the need for support for bereaved parents and call for societal and governmental attention to their challenges.