关键词:  , 失独者；丧失特征；精神卫生；精神卫生服务

Abstract: Background　Given the considerable quantity of shiduers（parents who have lost their only child），their mental health deserves close attention.This is related to loss characteristics，features directly concerning the object or event of loss.However，few studies have systematically investigated the relationship between various loss characteristics and shiduers' mental health.Furthermore，little research has explored shiduers' mental health according to both positive and negative indicators.Objective　To conduct a systematic investigation of the relationship between loss characteristics and shiduers' mental health.Methods　The subjects，466 shiduers from Beijing，Harbin，Zhengzhou，Chongqing，and Baotou，were selected by use of convenience and snow ball sampling from June to December 2017，and were investigated using a self-developed Loss Characteristics Questionnaire，the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale（CES-D），the Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale（SAS），the PTSD checklist（PCL），the Prolonged Grief Disorder-13（PG-13），the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory（PTGI），and the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale（ADHS）．Results　Duration since the child's death showed a significantly negative correlation with shiduers' anxiety（P<0.05），but demonstrated no significant correlation with shiduers' depression，post-traumatic stress disorder，prolonged grief disorder，post-traumatic growth，or hope（P>0.05）．The child's age at time of death was positively correlated with shiduers' depression and prolonged grief disorder（P<0.05），but not significantly correlated with shiduers' anxiety，post-traumatic stress disorder，post-traumatic growth，or hope（P>0.05）．Mothers who lost their only daughter had higher scores for depression，post-traumatic stress disorder，and prolonged grief disorder（P<0.05），whereas fathers had no such difference（P>0.05）．Shiduers with forewarning of the loss event had lower scores for post-traumatic stress disorder and higher scores for post-traumatic growth（P<0.05）than those with no forewarning.Scores for depression，anxiety，post-traumatic stress disorder，prolonged grief disorder，post-traumatic growth，and hope could not be predicted by the death of other important relatives after the child loss event（P>0.05）．The deceased child having offspring predicted lower scores for shiduers' anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder（P<0.05）．Parents whose child died in an accident experienced higher prolonged grief and lower post-traumatic growth and hope（P<0.05）．Conclusion　Factors related to shiduers' mental health include duration since the child's death，the child's age at death，the child's gender，forewarning of the loss event，whether the deceased child had offspring，and cause of death.This study's results can be used as a reference for psychological counseling and guidance of shiduers.

Key words: Shiduers, Loss characteristics, Mental health, Mental health services