Impacting millions of youth across the globe, early parental death is an important topic to investigate. This causal-comparative study (N = 256) examined a group of young adults who experienced a parental death during adolescence and a group of young adults who had not experienced an early parental death. The researchers examined the psychosocial developmental impact of early parental death and developed a predictive model of posttraumatic growth (PTG) for young adults who have experienced early parental death. When compared to non-bereaved peers, young adults who experienced an early parental death had lower psychosocial developmental strength. The findings of the study emphasized social support, spirituality, and psychosocial development as significant predictors of PTG in young adults who experienced an early parental death. The study also provided insight into sustaining PTG throughout the lifespan. Implications for the counseling profession are considered.

父母早逝影响着全球数百万青少年，是一个需要调查的重要话题。这项因果比较研究（N = 256）检查了一组在青春期经历过父母死亡的年轻人和一组没有经历过父母早期死亡的年轻人。研究人员研究了父母早期死亡对心理社会发展的影响，并为经历过父母早期死亡的年轻人开发了创伤后成长（PTG）的预测模型。与没有失去亲人的同龄人相比，经历过父母早逝的年轻人的心理社会发展强度较低。研究结果强调，对于经历过父母早逝的年轻人来说，社会支持、灵性和社会心理发展是 PTG 的重要预测因素。该研究还提供了在整个生命周期中维持 PTG 的见解。考虑了对咨询行业的影响。