Social support in bereavement: Developing and validating a new scale (original) (raw)

The Role of Social Support in Bereavement

Journal of Social Issues, 1988

Spousal bereavement involves a social network crisis. The individual's response is influenced by prebereavement personality factors and preexisting social network characteristics. The impact of the loss on the individual and other network members, and the presence or absence of concurrent stressors, will determine the "goodness offit" between the support offered and the needs of the bereaved and perception of the environment as helpful or unhelpful. An inadequate social network is associated with high distress over the course of bereavement. Intervention aimed at increasing social support can decrease the distress of bereavement.

Social support following bereavement: The role of beliefs, expectations, and support intentions

Death studies, 2017

Social support is one of the strongest determinants of bereavement outcomes, yet little is understood about the community's recognition of grief and intentions to provide social support to grieving persons. Four-hundred and seventy-six adults responded to an online vignette and questionnaire measuring grief norms and supportive intentions. Respondent gender, age, and bereavement status all had some association with expectations of grief, intentions to support, perceived helpfulness of support attempts, and opinions towards the diagnostic classification of grief. Given that most bereavement support is informal, this study informs the development of community capacity to provide constructive, timely bereavement support.

What determines supportive behaviors following bereavement? A systematic review and call to action

Death Studies

Very few factors that impact the grieving process can be modified after the fact to the extent that social support can. However, social support has received limited research attention, resulting in little conceptual understanding of the mechanisms behind perceptions of, and intentions to support, grieving persons. This systematic review aimed to explore bereaved, decedent, and respondent-related determinants of the provision of social support. The review yielded 42 studies impacted by various methodological and sampling limitations. This review poses a call to the field for more rigorous study of social support determinants to better assist the bereaved and their natural supporters.

The prevalence, comorbidity and risks of prolonged grief disorder among bereaved Chinese adults

Psychiatry Research

Few epidemiological studies have investigated prolonged grief disorder (PGD) in the general population of Asian countries, including China. The aim of this study was to explore the rates and risks of PGD, and the association between PGD, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety in bereaved Chinese adults. The PG-13, PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C), Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) were administered to 445 subjects. Prevalence within the general population of China was 1.8% (i.e., 8/445). Among the eight subjects who met the PGD diagnosis, 75%, 87.5% and 75% scored above the cut-off point on the PCL-C, SDS and SAS, respectively, although a portion remained free from comorbidity. ANOVA, correlation analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis demonstrated that kinship to deceased, age of the deceased, religion belief and cause of death were predictive of prolonged grief. A small proportion of bereaved p...

Who needs bereavement support? A population based survey of bereavement risk and support need

PloS one, 2015

This study identifies and describes the profiles of bereavement risk and support needs of a community sample in Australia and tests the fit of the data with the three-tiered public health model for bereavement support. Family members who were bereaved 6-24 months prior to the survey and who were clients of four funeral providers participated (May-July 2013). A postal survey was used to collect information about bereaved people's experience of caring and perceived satisfaction with any bereavement support provided. The questionnaire included a validated risk assessment screening measure for Prolonged Grief Disorder (PG-13). A total of 678 bereaved people responded. The model predicted that 60% of the sample would be low risk, 30% moderate risk, and 10% high risk. Actual figures were very close at 58.4%, 35.2% and 6.4% respectively. The analysis of the demographic characteristics, experience and impact of caring and bereavement, and satisfaction with support received from a variet...

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Core Bereavement Items

Assessment, 2013

Despite being a routinely administered assessment of grieving, few studies have empirically examined the psychometric properties of the Core Bereavement Items (CBI). The present study investigated the factor structure, internal reliability, and concurrent validity of the CBI in a large, diverse sample of bereaved young adults (N = 1,366). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (conducted on randomly selected halves of the sample) supported a two-factor structure, with items tapping into grief-related Thoughts and Emotional Response to loss. These factors showed strong internal consistency and unique associations with demographic variables, circumstantial factors surrounding the loss, and a measure of prolonged/severe grief-highlighting the potential applicability of the identified factor structure.

What is good grief support? Exploring the actors and actions in social support after traumatic grief

PLOS ONE, 2021

Social support seems to enhance wellbeing and health in many populations. Conversely, poor social support and loneliness are a social determinant of poor health outcomes and can adversely affect physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Social support is especially important in traumatic grief. However, the ways in which grieving individuals interpret and define social support is not well understood, and little is known about what specific behaviours are perceived as helpful. Using qualitative description and content analysis, this study assessed bereaved individuals’ satisfaction of social support in traumatic grief, using four categories of social support as a framework. Findings suggest inadequate satisfaction from professional, familial, and community support. Pets emerged with the most satisfactory ratings. Further, findings suggest that emotional support is the most desired type of support following traumatic loss. Implications for supporting bereaved individuals within and ...

Does Social Support Help in Bereavement

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 2005

A review of studies on the role of social support as a moderator of bereavement outcome indicates that there is limited evidence for the widely held assumption that social support buffers the bereaved against the impact of the loss experience and/or facilitates recovery. A test of the buffering/recovery hypothesis is reported, which is based on data from the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) study, a prospective study of 1,532 married individuals aged 65 and older. Information from women who became bereaved during the study, on social support and depression measured before, and six, 18, and 48 months after bereavement, was used. There was a main effect of social support on depressive symptoms, but no indication for either a buffering or a recovery effect. Theoretical implications are discussed.