Research Note: Bereavement Among a Contemporary Cohort of U.S. Young Adults

Bereavement—the state of having lost a loved one through death—is both a result and driver of population health disparities. Its impacts for young adults are profound. Yet, existing research on the demography of young adult bereavement in the U.S. focuses mostly on older cohorts born under more favorable mortality conditions, and on few sources of bereavement, namely the deaths of immediate family. This research note describes the demography of bereavement among a contemporary cohort of disadvantaged young adults, attending to three generations of family relationships, as well as non-familial relationships. We analyze data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) (N=2,350), a longitudinal study of young adults disproportionately born to unmarried mothers in the late 1990s. Demographers have documented this cohort’s family experiences extensively, yet we know little about their exposure to familial and non-familial deaths. We document high levels and large inequalities in bereavement from adolescence through young adulthood; show the consequences of bereavement for young adults’ mental health, measured by major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder; and confirm these associations are comparable across race and ethnic groups. The results emphasize the need to recognize bereavement as a substantial stressor that affects population health.