The Impact of Parental Death in Childhood on Adult Mortality: Evidence From Southern Sweden, 1813–1967

Enrico Debiasi , Lund University
Matthias Rosenbaum-Feldbrügge, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen

The death of a parent during childhood is known to have significant consequences, particularly in the short term, on infant and child mortality across different geographical contexts. A substantial part of the literature argues that early life exposures to adverse events are associated with later life outcomes. While several studies focus on the impact of childhood health and socioeconomic conditions on health and socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood, evidence about the long term impact of family structure and particularly of parental death is still scarce. Only few studies investigated such relationship providing mixed results. In this paper we aim at extending the knowledge about the effects of parental loss in childhood on early and later adult mortality by analyzing a regional population from the south of Sweden followed longitudinally from 1813 until 1967.

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 Presented in Session 223. Flash Session: Families and Health