The effect of maternal and paternal death on childhood survival in Southern Sweden (Scania, 1813-1950)

The death of a parent is always a traumatic event, with emotional as well as material consequences. In the historical past the death of a parent not only jeopardized the survival of the family as a dynamic unit but it also affected individual members’ health and their future prospects. Infants and children were particularly affected, as they were dependent on parents for their care and provision of all their needs. Mortality risks for orphans were clearly mediated by the coping strategies. However, while remarriage, move within the parish and recruitment of kin help have been studied in, migration from the parish of residence, and its gendered use, have been scarcely considered as potential interference. This paper will study the effects of parental death on children’s life chances and the widowhood strategies during childhood in five parishes in Scania, (Southern Sweden) during the 19th and early 20th. The aim is to analyze the particular impact of parental death on mortality during particular periods of childhood, extending the analysis to the 20th century and including surviving parent’s coping strategies. As the probability of dying and migrating were changing during the period of study, changes over time in the effect of paternal death on both of these outcomes will be additionally considered.