Long-Term Health Outcomes of Early Parental Loss: A Case Study of African Adults

Early Parental Loss, a type of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) has been reported to have long-term effects on the mental health of adults. This systematic review aimed to investigate the long-term mental health effects of early parental loss among African adults, and coping mechanisms adopted by the affected. Literature searches were done using Google Scholar, PubMed as well as manual Searches with the aid of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) using the following search terms in conjunction with Boolean operators (OR/AND): “African adults”, “adverse childhood events”, “early parental death”, “parental death”, “orphaned children”, “parental absence”, “orphaned adults”, “health effects”, and “health outcomes”. 13 studies were included in the review and the results showed that early parental loss was significantly associated with high risk of mental health issues like depression, anxiety, substance abuse, suicidal ideation and psychological distress. Early maternal loss was associated with more severe psychosocial challenges, internalized emotional distress, and prolonged bereavement. Resilience to mental health effects due to early parental loss were based on coping strategies such as effective communication, social support and preferring solutions or engaging as well as participating in productive activities such as farming. Male adults were more resilient to ACE-related mental health effects compared to females. ACE-related mental health effects were worsened by factors such as poverty, educational disruptions (or lack) parental illness (e.g., HIV/AIDS). There is an urgent need to provide psychosocial support systems, targeted mental health interventions and policy frameworks to help mitigate the long-term impacts of early parental loss.