Prospective risk factors for complicated grief: A review of the empirical literature

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Abstract

Grieving is a natural response to the loss of a loved one, one that is repeatedly experienced by most individuals during their lifetimes. Although grief is ubiquitous, research shows that responses to loss vary among grievers. Some individuals respond resiliently, by experiencing little in the way of psychological distress (Bonanno & Kaltman, 2001), others experience acute grief for as long as 1–2 years (Bonanno & Mancini, 2006), and still others experience severe, debilitating, and sometimes life-threatening grief for a protracted length of time – a condition known as complicated grief (CG; Prigerson, Frank, et al., 1995) or prolonged grief disorder (PGD; Prigerson et al., 2009). Therefore, because of the increased precision with which we can identify the distinct characteristics of CG (Holland, Neimeyer, Boelen, & Prigerson, 2009), better scales with which to measure it (Prigerson, Frank, et al., 1995), and improved therapies with which to treat it (Shear, Frank, Houch, & Reynolds, 2005), isolating prospective risk factors is crucial. Our primary goal in this chapter is to identify empirically supported factors that predict subsequent susceptibility to the full range of responses to loss, from common to complicated grief, that merit further scientific and clinical attention.

Citation

Relevant Evidence Summaries

The evidence was reviewed and included in the following summaries: 

What can help refugees process traumatic grief?

There is limited strong evidence on interventions that specifically target traumatic grief. –  Prolonged and traumatic grief are usually closely associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and therefore many interventions targeted PTSD with grief symptoms as an auxiliary diagnosis –  There appear to be some differences in interventions that target grief as a result of…

About this study

AGE: Adults

DIRECTION OF EVIDENCE: No evidence about impact

FULL TEXT AVAILABILITY: Paid

OUTCOME AREA: Mental Health

POPULATION: Other

STRENGTH OF EVIDENCE: Suggestive

TYPE OF STUDY: Suggestive evidence

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2013

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