Psychosomatic symptoms in parents 2 years after the death of a child with cancer

Forty-five mothers and 30 fathers, representing 58 families, completed the Symptom Checklist 90-Re-vised, a measure of current psychological and somatic symptoms, 24 months after the death of a child with cancer. The mean scores from six symptom dimensions (somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, and hostility) and a global measure of the depth of symptomatology, the Global Severity Index, were contrasted with those of the nonpatient and psychiatric outpatient norms reported by Derogatis (1983). Two years after the child’s death parents showed a symptom profile reflecting significantly greater distress than that reported by nonbereaved, nonpatient adults. The results highlight important distinctions between bereaved parents and psychiatric outpatients.