Latent profiles of physical and psychological outcomes of bereaved parents in China who lost their only child

ABSTRACTBackground: Along with the implementation of the one-child policy in China, a special group of bereaved parents called ‘shiduer’ (失独者), meaning parents bereaved by the loss of their only child, emerged. Although previous research has examined the physical and psychological health of this population, individual differences in physical and psychological outcomes are still not well understood.Objective: This study aimed to identify heterogenous subgroups of Chinese bereaved parents who lost their only child based on the physical and psychological health of this population as well as the predictive factors of each subgroup.Method: Latent profile analysis was used to explore underlying patterns of physical and psychological indicators including subjective physical health, negative psychological outcomes (i.e. depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and prolonged grief disorder) and positive psychological outcomes (i.e. post-traumatic growth) among a sample of Chinese bereaved parents who lost their ...