Bereavement is a risk factor for poor health, yet prior research has not considered how exposure to parental death across the life course may contribute to lasting social isolation and, in turn, poor health among older adults. Moreover, prior research often fails to consider the racial context of bereavement in the United States wherein Black and Hispanic Americans are much more likely than White Americans to experience parental death earlier in life. The present study uses longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; 1998–2016) to consider linkages of parental death, social isolation, and health (self-rated health, functional limitations) for Black, Hispanic, and White older adults. Findings suggest that exposure to parental death is associated with higher levels of isolation, greater odds of fair/poor self-rated health, and greater odds of functional limitations in later life. Moreover, social isolation partially explains associations between parental bereavement and later-life health. These patterns persist net of psychological distress—an additional psychosocial response to bereavement. Racial inequities in bereavement are central to disadvantage: Black and Hispanic adults are more likely to experience a parent’s death earlier in the life course, and this differential exposure to parental death in childhood or young adulthood has implications for racial and ethnic inequities in social isolation and health throughout life.

中文翻译：

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一生中父母死亡、社会孤立和晚年健康：美国的种族/民族劣势

丧亲之痛是健康状况不佳的一个风险因素，但之前的研究并未考虑到在整个生命过程中经历父母死亡可能会如何导致持久的社会孤立，进而导致老年人的健康状况不佳。此外，之前的研究往往没有考虑到美国丧亲之痛的种族背景，其中黑人和西班牙裔美国人比美国白人更有可能在生命早期经历父母的死亡。本研究使用健康与退休研究（HRS；1998-2016）的纵向数据来考虑黑人、西班牙裔和白人老年人的父母死亡、社会孤立和健康（自评健康、功能限制）之间的联系。研究结果表明，父母死亡的经历与更高程度的孤立、自我评价健康状况一般/较差的可能性更大以及晚年功能受限的可能性更大有关。此外，社会隔离在一定程度上解释了父母丧亲与晚年健康之间的关联。这些模式在排除心理困扰后仍持续存在——这是对丧亲之痛的一种额外的社会心理反应。丧亲之痛中的种族不平等是不利的核心：黑人和西班牙裔成年人更有可能在生命历程的早期经历父母的死亡，这种在童年或成年初期经历父母死亡的不同程度，对社会孤立和种族不平等产生了影响。一生健康。