Affective bonds of adult children with living versus deceased parents

In a study of bonds with living versus deceased parents, Israeli adult children (aged 17 to 77 years) formed 3 groups with both parents alive, only mother alive, and both parents deceased. Questionnaires assessed relations with mother and father (363 participants completed bond intensity and 217 of them completed both bond intensity and bond evaluation). Whereas bond intensity (with factors of Closeness, Influence, and Commitment) refers to the strength of the relationship's manifestations, bond evaluation refers to the subjective location of this relationship on a positive-negative continuum. Contrary to the hypothesis, bond intensity was not lower for deceased than for living parents. As hypothesized, bond evaluation was higher for mother and father when both were deceased. The study suggests a developmental trajectory whereby the affective bonds of adult children toward their parents transcend parental death and normative mourning.