Loss and Bereavement

The primary purpose of this research is to compare the grief and bereavement responses of children, adolescents, and adults. The death of a pet is used to understand the grief response. Author: Josephine JoAnn Jarolmen, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey

This dissertation was designed to search for grief assessments; to provide researchers, clinicians, and students with a compendium of instruments that can be used in research and in clinical practice. Three objectives were met: (1) locate grief measures; (2) review for key constructs; and (3) find how well cited the instruments were. Author: Susan L. Horrocks, State University of New York at Buffalo

This single-case study was designed to identify the symptoms of complicated grief as it differs from both a normal grieving process and other forms of pathology often diagnosed in the bereaved. Author: Lucinda C. Woerner, Northcentral University

These changes in expectations for one’s life and one’s family can be difficult to define and adjust to; that ambiguous type of loss of expected life experiences can cause great difficulty in coping and may lead to a complicated grief type reaction. Author: Sabrina Stoll-Egger, Palo Alto University

This study investigated the effects of expressive writing outside of a laboratory setting without influence from procedural variables such as writing instructions to participants. A qualitative longitudinal case study was conducted to analyze the journal of an adult female articulating her experience of the illness and death of her 8 year-old daughter. Author: Kelly Ellen Wollman, Northcentral University

Previous research suggests children's drawings reflect experiences that are difficult to verbalize, but to date no study has been done to differentiate children who are experiencing traumatic grief from children who are experiencing non-traumatic grief using artwork. Author: Cynthia D. O'Flynn, Northcentral University

The Grief Experience Inventory (GEI) and a demographic questionnaire was administered nationally to 135 bereaved parents to assess bereavement outcome. Author: Esther Dinesman Davis, The Fielding Institute

This study compared the bereavement trajectories of African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian subpopulations. Participants were adult children who had lost a parent to cancer. Author: Henry William Brandhorst, Miami Institute of Psychology of the Caribbean Center for Advanced Studies

The purpose of the proposed qualitative research was to provide a deeper and clearer understanding of bereaved parents' experiences with members of support systems following the death of a child. Author: Hollie Eiland Richardson, Northcentral University

Some researchers suggest that psychological trauma following loss involves a violation of basic assumptive worldviews, and can precipitate a spiritual crisis following loss, also known as complicated spiritual grief (CSG). Author: Laurie A. Burke, The University of Memphis

The variables of interest in this study were participation in individual counseling, participation in grief-support groups, perceived helpfulness of social support, and overall level of hope. This research also addressed whether personal resolution following bereavement-related loss and grief differed based on race and differed based on the relationship to the deceased. Author: Doris C. Vaughans, The University of Alabama