Bereavement due to child loss, divorce, and depressive mood in older age across European welfare regimes

Abstract

While bereavement, particularly the loss of a child, is a well-known risk factor for mental health in the short term, its long-term consequences on depressive mood in old age and across different welfare regimes have been investigated less. This study focused on the combined role of child loss and divorce on depressive symptoms, measured using the EURO-D scale in Central, Nordic, Southern, and Eastern European countries. We used data from the European SHARE project, covering 22,959 participants aged 50+ over a 16-year period. Using OLS regressions, we found that, compared to no child loss and no divorce, the association between depressive symptoms and child loss was significant ($\beta$ = 0.22, 95% C.I. = [0.13, 0.30]), among both women and men. The absolute increase was even stronger when the mutual effect of child loss and divorce was considered ($\beta$ = 0.34, 95% C.I. = [0.18, 0.48]). Employing Generalized Estimating Equations, we found that depressive symptoms related to divorce did not increase over time, regardless of past bereavement. Compared with people in the Nordic countries, those living in Southern Europe experienced more depressive symptoms related to child loss and no divorce, but fewer depressive symptoms related to the combined effect of child loss and divorce. In sum, our findings indicate that bereavement due to child loss may lead to more depressive symptoms among both women and men in old age, especially in combination with divorce. In the latter case, we posit that participants living in Southern European countries may be protected by higher levels of social support through family ties or informal social networks.