Similar, but different:  Investigating the long-term effects of  childhood parental death on adult  attachment in a sibling context

Background: about 5% of children experience childhood parental death, which has been associated with a higher risk for developing insecure attachment styles in adulthood. However, some people suffer more long-term consequences compared to others, even within the same family. Which factors play a role in the differential experiences following childhood parental death, even between siblings, who experienced the same objective life event? Objective: In the current study, we aimed to investigate the association between childhood parental death and adult attachment, and the role of parental bonding with each parent in this association. We also investigated this in a sibling-context, where we studied parental bonding as a family-wide and an individual factor. Design: 819 participants, aged between 25 and 45 years old, took part in this cross-sectional between-subject study. Questionnaires were administered to obtain information about parental bonding and adult attachment. The study...Show moreBackground: about 5% of children experience childhood parental death, which has been associated with a higher risk for developing insecure attachment styles in adulthood. However, some people suffer more long-term consequences compared to others, even within the same family. Which factors play a role in the differential experiences following childhood parental death, even between siblings, who experienced the same objective life event? Objective: In the current study, we aimed to investigate the association between childhood parental death and adult attachment, and the role of parental bonding with each parent in this association. We also investigated this in a sibling-context, where we studied parental bonding as a family-wide and an individual factor. Design: 819 participants, aged between 25 and 45 years old, took part in this cross-sectional between-subject study. Questionnaires were administered to obtain information about parental bonding and adult attachment. The study included two parts, where in the first part the hypotheses were investigated in the main sample (i.e., a sample of nonrelated individuals), an in the second part in the sibling sample (i.e., a sample of sibling dyads and triads). Results: Both avoidant and anxiety attachment were more present in the target group compared to the control group in the main sample, but not in the sibling sample. Stronger maternal and paternal bonding were related to less insecure attachment in adulthood in the control group of the main sample, but no associations between bonding with the surviving and deceased parent were found the target group of the main sample. Stronger family-wide and individual maternal bonding were related to less avoidance attachment in the control group of the sibling sample, but not to anxiety attachment. In the target group of the sibling sample, stronger family-wide bonding with the surviving parent was related to less avoidance attachment and stronger family-wide bonding with the deceased parent was related to less anxiety attachment. Conclusion: Childhood parental death appears to be related to more insecure attachment in adulthood. The role of parental bonding seems to be different depending upon whether childhood parental death has been experienced. Within siblings, both familywide parental bonding and individual specific bonding seem to have individual effects on adult attachment, suggesting that including individual and family-wide experiences might shed light upon more complex processes of bonding and attachment formation within families. However, further research is needed to replicate these findings before conclusions can be drawn.Show less

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Similar, but different: Investigating the long-term effects of childhood parental death on adult attachment in a sibling context