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Now I am far from saying that children universally are capable of grief like mine. But there are more than you ever heard of, who die of grief in this island of ours … Children torn away from mothers and sisters at that age not infrequently die. I speak of what I know.
THOMAS DE QUINCEY, Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow
Before describing the great variety of forms that childhood mourning can take when conditions are unfavourable, we pause to consider some of the evidence that shows that children who lose a parent by death are more likely than others to become psychiatric casualties. This view, which has for long been implicit in much psychoanalytic writing, has been advanced explicitly by a number of research workers for at least three decades. Although it has been the subject of much controversy, the more rigorous studies of recent years have shown at least some of the original claims to be valid.
The evidence derives from several sources:
studies that show that individuals who have lost a parent by death when children are more likely than others to suffer periods of extreme emotional distress during early adult life
studies that show an increased incidence of childhood bereavement among children and adolescents referred to a child psychiatric clinic
studies that show an increased incidence of childhood bereavement among adults referred to a psychiatric service.
It has been found, furthermore, that loss of a parent by death during childhood influences the symptomatology of any psychiatric disorder from which a person may subsequently suffer.
Since published studies are numerous, and statistical pitfalls many, discussion is limited to a few only of the better-planned examples.