Table 1.
Weighted Means (SD) or Percentages of Bereaved Parents’ Baseline Characteristics by Gender (N = 1,869)
| Bereaved mothers | Bereaved fathers | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dependent variable | |||
| Depressive symptoms | 2.08 (2.19) | 1.32 (1.88) | *** |
| Sociodemographic characteristics | |||
| Age | 65.94 (10.22) | 64.91 (9.67) | |
| Racially/ethnically minoritized | 29.02 | 28.08 | |
| Partnered | 51.72 | 81.31 | *** |
| Socioeconomic resources | |||
| Education (in years) | 11.32 (3.16) | 11.78 (3.34) | ** |
| Wealth (in 1998 dollars) | $18,200 | $34,000 | *** |
| Interpersonal resources | |||
| Any surviving children | 93.63 | 94.60 | |
| Friends nearby | 69.02 | 66.82 | |
| Family nearby | 34.04 | 30.69 | |
| Share of children in weekly contact | 0.70 (0.33) | 0.63 (0.35) | ** |
| Health characteristics | |||
| Chronic conditions | 1.64 (1.25) | 1.46 (1.31) | ** |
| Heavy alcohol user | 3.25 | 10.77 | *** |
| Smoker | 16.85 | 20.02 | |
| Other bereavement | |||
| Prior child death | 19.73 | 13.21 | ** |
| Concurrent family death | 22.59 | 22.53 | |
| Weighted percentage of parents in HRS | 6.42% of mothers | 4.41% of fathers | *** |
| Unweighted n | 1,207 | 662 |
Notes: Weighted percentage of parents in Health and Retirement Study (HRS) refers to the weighted percentage of mothers and fathers who experienced the death of a child during their observation in the 1998–2014 HRS, calculated prior to removing nonbereaved parents from the sample. SD = standard deviation.
**p < .01. ***p < .001.