The impact of parental loss on self-esteem and mental health variables among adolescents

Objective: The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between self-esteem and mental health variables in adolescents who have both experienced and not experienced parental loss and to reveal the differences between the two groups. Methods: As the research group, 90 (63 female, 27 male) adolescents with parental loss were involved in the study. The age range of the research group is 15-18 (average: 16.6±1.2). As the control group, 90 adolescents (62 female, 28 male) who have similar socio-demographic features, but have not experienced parental loss were included in the study. The age range of the control group is 15-18 (average: 16.5±1.1). Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) was used in order to evaluate the mental health variability of the participants, and Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (CSEI) was used so as to evaluate self-esteem. The relationship between the group who have experienced and have not experienced a parental loss was tested by X2 analysis. T-test was used to compare the quantitative constant data between two independent groups. The statistical level of significance was obtained as p˂.05. Results: It was found that the general self-esteem (t=-7.714; p˂.05), social self-esteem (t=-4.748; p˂.05), home-parents self-esteem (t=-3.162; p˂.05), academic self-esteem (t=-5.604; p˂.05), total self- esteem (t=-8.208; p˂.05) points of the adolescents having experienced a parental loss were statistically and significantly lower than the points of adolescents not having experienced a parental loss. It was identified that somatization (t=2.932; p˂.05), obsession-compulsion disorder (t=4.921; p˂.05), interpersonal sensitivity (t=4.428; p˂.05), depression (t=4.810; p˂.05), anxiety disorder (t=4.326; p˂.05), hostility (t=2.759; p˂.05), phobic anxiety (t=4.273; p˂.05) paranoid ideation (t=3.747; p˂.05), psychoticism (t=3.517; p˂.05), food-beverage disorder, sleep disorder and thoughts on death (t=2.003; p˂.05) points of the adolescents were statistically and significantly higher than the points of adolescents not having experienced a parental loss. It was observed that there were no statistically significant relationship on account of their age and gender between the two groups (p˂.05). It was also found that the general self-esteem, social self-esteem and total self-esteem points of the adolescents whose family level of income was under 2000 TL were lower, and their points of interpersonal sensitivity and phobic anxiety were statistically and significantly higher than those whose level of income is over 2000 TL (respectively t=-2,216; t =-4,019; t =-2,589; t =2,073; t=2,314 for all of them p<.05). Conclusion: The findings of this study preoccupy that a parental loss has negative effects on adolescents' self-esteem and this group is more likely to show some psychiatric symptoms. These differences among the adolescents that have experienced a parental loss can make those adolescents more fragile on account of psychiatric disorders. Knowing the factors that facilitate and protect the appearance of symptoms in this field is important in terms of the development of the mental health. Longitudinal researches are needed on account of the appearance of self-esteem, and psychiatric symptoms and disorders especially after the loss. Key words: Parental loss, mental health, self-esteem, the effects of parental loss on adolescents.