Perceived Changes in Life Meaning following Bereavement

Much research has documented the negative sequelae associated with death of a loved one. The goal of the present study was to investigate the possibility, alluded to by existential and humanistic theorists, that positive aspects of bereavement exist. College students who recently experienced the death of a close family member completed measures of grief-related distress, existential meaning, and answered open-ended questions regarding perceived changes in belief in God and life goals occurring as a result of their experience. A significant inverse relationship was found between grief and existential meaning. The majority of the sample reported a positive change in life goals, and these individuals had significantly higher existential meaning than those who reported a negative change in goals. Those who experienced change (positive or negative) in belief in God had higher levels of grief than those who reported no change. These results suggest that positive changes are associated with bereavement and that grief itself may serve as an impetus for personal growth.

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Psychosocial symptomatology, personal growth, and development among young adult patients following the diagnosis of leukemia or lymphoma.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.1988.6.4.613 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 613-617 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

S Daiter ◽

R A Larson ◽

W W Weddington ◽

J E Ultmann

Keyword(s):

Young Adult ◽

Young Adulthood ◽

Personal Growth ◽

Psychosocial Stress ◽

Critical Period ◽

Social Supports ◽

Adult Patients ◽

Life Goals ◽

Self Image ◽

Close Family

Leukemias and lymphomas, especially Hodgkin's disease, are common cancers in young adults. Young adulthood is also a critical period for psychological and social development. The occurrence of cancer can interfere with the development of independence, self-image, and life goals of young adult patients. Young adult patients with leukemia or lymphoma, especially those with less favorable prognoses, experience areas of significant personal growth and maturation during their illness and treatment. Close family and social supports report as much psychosocial stress, and in many cases more stress, than the patients themselves, but similar patterns of personal growth are rarely seen.

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A Qualitative Study of Grief among Family Members of Missing Persons in Southern Sri Lanka

10.21203/rs.3.rs-173685/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Amila Isuru ◽

Padmakumara Bandumithra ◽

Shehan Williams

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Social Issues ◽

Family Members ◽

Ambiguous Loss ◽

Loved One ◽

Close Family Member ◽

Missing Persons ◽

2004 Tsunami ◽

Close Family

Abstract IntroductionThe psychological and social issues experienced by family members of missing persons are different from normal grief following the death of a loved one. The term “Ambiguous loss” describes this psychological phenomenon. “Ambiguous loss” acts as a barrier to adjusting to grief, leading to symptoms of depression and intra and interpersonal relational conflicts. An in-depth understanding of this subjective experience is important.MethodA qualitative study was conducted among close family members of persons who had gone missing during the civil conflict and the 2004 tsunami in southern Sri Lanka. Purposive and snowballing sampling methods were used to recruit the participants. In-depth interviews were recorded with the help of a semi-structured guide, after informed consent. The recordings were transcribed and thematically analyzed by three independent investigators. The investigators met to code the themes and ground them through reflexivity. The triangulation process involved cross-checking with the interviewees. ResultsTheoretical sample saturation was achieved with 24 family members of missing persons. Responders were mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, and siblings of missing individuals. Six predominant themes were identified. They lacked closure, hope, guilt, helplessness, perpetual suffering, and effects due to gender roles. ConclusionThe close family member of the missing person has prolonged vacillating grief characterized by hope, guilt, helplessness, and perpetual suffering due to lack of closure. The effects are more pronounced in women through the interplay of socio-cultural factors. The surviving loved one is ‘locked in grief’ indefinitely.

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“What made you choose blue?” On becoming more “awkward”

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults ◽

10.1108/qaoa-09-2013-0025 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 3-9

Author(s):

Ron Iphofen

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

Personal Experience ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Progressive Dementia ◽

Content Type ◽

Loved One ◽

Close Family Member ◽

Practical Implications ◽

Close Family

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer insights into the personal experience of dealing with the progressive dementia of a close family member. Design/methodology/approach – Selected journal/diary entries over a ten-year period. Edited and anonymised. Findings – Even informed professionals with knowledge into the health and care system can struggle with the challenges of the progressive dementia of a loved one and managing the system. Research limitations/implications – One shot case study influenced by the moral and emotional proximity. Practical implications – Case studies can offer a range of diverse, if not unique, examples of the specific needs and problems faced by families that carers should take note of. Originality/value – All case studies are unique. But narrative accounts, even if episodic, can bring home-specific illustrations of good, best and problematic practices.

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Posttraumatic growth after the loss of a loved one in relation to ruminations and core beliefs

Human Affairs ◽

10.1515/humaff-2020-0034 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 399-412

Author(s):

Lucia Záhorcová ◽

Andrea Prielomková

Keyword(s):

Posttraumatic Growth ◽

Family Member ◽

Core Beliefs ◽

Loved One ◽

Sudden Loss ◽

Close Family Member ◽

The Relationship ◽

Close Family

AbstractThe goal of this study was to examine the relationship between posttraumatic growth, ruminations, and core beliefs in grieving individuals after the loss of a loved one. The participants were 140 bereaved individuals (122 women, 18 men; M = 38.40; SD = 13.96). The results showed that posttraumatic growth was positively related to intrusive and deliberate ruminations; however, it was positively predicted only by deliberate ruminations. Core beliefs disruption was also positively related to deliberate and intrusive ruminations, but only deliberate ruminations positively predicted core beliefs. Moreover, posttraumatic growth is positively related to grief after the loss but unrelated to the time elapsed since loss. Higher posttraumatic growth was found in individuals who had experienced a sudden loss and loss of a close family member. Overall, the study shows that deliberate ruminations, for example about the meaning of the loss and its consequences, can stimulate posttraumatic growth in bereaved individuals.

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The feasibility and acceptability of a chaplain-led intervention for caregivers of seriously ill patients: A Caregiver Outlook pilot study

Palliative & Supportive Care ◽

10.1017/s1478951515001248 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 456-467 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Karen E. Steinhauser ◽

Annette Olsen ◽

Kimberly S. Johnson ◽

Linda L. Sanders ◽

Maren Olsen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Study Participant ◽

Well Being ◽

Spiritual Needs ◽

Full Time ◽

Advanced Illness ◽

Loved One ◽

Close Family Member ◽

Seriously Ill Patients ◽

Participant Screening ◽

Anxiety Depression

AbstractObjective:When caring for a loved one with a life-limiting illness, a caregiver's own physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering can be profound. While many interventions focus on physical and emotional well-being, few caregiver interventions address existential and spiritual needs and the meaning that caregivers ascribe to their role. To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the process and content of Caregiver Outlook, we employed a manualized chaplain-led intervention to improve well-being by exploring role-related meaning among caregivers of patients with a life-limiting illness.Method:We conducted a single-arm pre–post pilot evaluation among caregivers of patients with advanced cancer or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Caregivers completed three chaplain-led intervention sessions focusing on (1) a relationship review, (2) forgiveness, and (3) legacy. Outcomes administered at baseline and at 1 and 2 weeks after the intervention included quality of life, anxiety, depression, spiritual well-being, religious coping, caregiver burden, and grief.Results:The sample (N = 31) included a range of socioeconomic status groups, and the average age was approximately 60 years. A third of them worked full-time. Some 74% of our participants cared for a spouse or partner, and the other quarter of the sample cared for a parent (13%), child (10%), or other close family member (3%). At baseline, participants did not demonstrate clinical threshold levels of anxiety, depression, or other indicators of distress. Outcomes were stable over time. The qualitative results showed the ways in which Caregiver Outlook was assistive: stepping back from day-to-day tasks, the opportunity to process emotions, reflecting on support received, provoking thoughts and emotions between sessions, discussing role changes, stimulating communication with others, and the anonymity of a phone conversation. Both religious and nonreligious participants were pleased with administration of the chaplain intervention.Significance of results:The acceptability and feasibility of Caregiver Outlook were demonstrated among caregivers of patients with an advanced illness. Our pilot findings suggest minor modifications to study participant screening, interventionist guidance, and the study measures.

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Generation differences in importance perception of productive ageing and the validity analysis of productive ageing scale

The Korean Journal of Industrial and Organizational Psychology ◽

10.24230/kjiop.v24i1.1-27 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 1-27

Author(s):

Juil Rie ◽

Younwook Kang ◽

Jihyun Kim ◽

Kyung Ryu

Keyword(s):

Career Development ◽

Subjective Wellbeing ◽

The Elderly ◽

Life Goals ◽

Successful Ageing ◽

Life Meaning ◽

Family Assistance ◽

Productive Activities ◽

Generation Differences ◽

Productive Ageing

This study has two purposes. One is to identify generation differences in importance perception of productive ageing. Second is to find relationship between productive ageing and successful ageing. First, we developed 20 items to measure productive activities based on Caro, Bass, & Chen (1993)'s definition. Our items were divided into 4 factors; to do activities for life goals, to do activities for self career development, to do activities for family assistance, and to do volunteering activities. In our research, we found generation differences in importance perception of productive activities for successful ageing. In comparison with the elderly, younger people considered it more important to do activities for life goals, career development, and volunteering in their old age. Productive ageing scale of 20 items newly developed for this study was divided into 4 factors in our confirmatory factor analysis, and the reliability of 4 sub-scales was good. The importance perception of productive ageing was significantly related with subjective wellbeing and life meaning. Even after controlling personality such as extroversions, conscientiousness, and openness, it explained significantly subjective wellbeing and life meaning. Lastly, working elderly and non-working elderly were different in meaning perception about productive ageing. Working elderly considered it important to do activities for life goals.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL RESOURCES AIR FORCE PILOTS USE FOR SELF-REGULATION

Aviation ◽

10.3846/16487788.2013.777221 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 30-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Olena Dolgova ◽

Maryna Ivaniuk ◽

Serhiy Tukayev

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Empirical Analysis ◽

Air Force ◽

Personal Growth ◽

Positive Attitude ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Life Goals ◽

Ethical Responsibility ◽

Psychological Resources ◽

Self Reliance

This article contains the results of theoretical and empirical analysis of the psychological resources of air force pilots. It presents a model of psychological resources for self-regulation, the components of which are resilience, moral and ethical responsibility, flexibility, reflexivity, tolerance or intolerance for ambiguity, and mental health as a complex of personal resources such as autonomy, competency, personal growth, a positive attitude to others, life goals, and self-reliance.

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Constructions of surrogates, egg donors, and mothers: Swedish gay fathers’ narratives

Feminism & Psychology ◽

10.1177/0959353520922415 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 508-528

Author(s):

Anna Malmquist ◽

Sonja Höjerström

Keyword(s):

Instrumental Function ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Surrogate Mother ◽

Ongoing Debate ◽

Close Family Member ◽

Gay Fathers ◽

Discursive Analysis ◽

Egg Donor ◽

Egg Donors ◽

Close Family

The study explored in detail how Swedish gay fathers (through surrogacy) talked about the surrogate mother and the egg donor. Thirteen semi-structured interviews with 22 gay fathers were conducted and analysed using critical discursive analysis. The surrogates were primarily constructed as a close family member, but occasionally in terms of their instrumental function. They were often described as active and independent, but occasionally as vulnerable or exploited. The egg donors were in some interviews constructed as close family members, while others talked about them as distant acquaintances. Further, donors were constructed either as a significant individual (for the fathers), or as an instrumental provider of the oocyte. While some participants constructed the surrogate and/or donor as their child’s mother(s), others were more reluctant or ambivalent about the mother construct. In conclusion, the participants engaged in rhetorical work that shed a positive light on surrogacy, and their own decisions were depicted as solid, ethical and genuine. The participants’ positive framing can be understood as the production of a counter discourse, in relation to an ongoing debate in Sweden, in which surrogacy is constructed as exploitation, dehumanization and prostitution.

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The Clustering of Adverse Childhood Experiences in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children: Are Gender and Poverty Important?

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260520935096 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 088626052093509 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Rebecca E. Lacey ◽

Laura D. Howe ◽

Michelle Kelly-Irving ◽

Mel Bartley ◽

Yvonne Kelly

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Problems ◽

Parental Mental Health ◽

Childhood Experiences ◽

Close Family Member ◽

Parents And Children ◽

Adverse Childhood ◽

Avon Longitudinal Study ◽

Close Family

Previous research has demonstrated a graded relationship between the number of Adverse Childhood Experiences reported (an ACE score) and child outcomes. However, ACE scores lack specificity and ignore the patterning of adversities, which are informative for interventions. The aim of the present study was to explore the clustering of ACEs and whether this clustering differs by gender or is predicted by poverty. Data on 8,572 participants of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were used. ALSPAC is a regionally representative prenatal cohort of children born between 1991 and 1992 in the Avon region of South-West England. ACEs included parental divorce, death of a close family member, interparental violence, parental mental health problems, parental alcohol misuse, parental drug use, parental convictions, and sexual, emotional, and physical abuse, between birth and 19 years. Latent class analysis was used to derive ACE clusters and associations between poverty, gender, and the derived classes tested using multinomial logistic regression. Five latent classes were identified: “Low ACEs” (55%), “Parental separation and mother’s mental health problems” (18%), “Parental mental health problems, convictions and separation” (15%), “Abuse and mental health problems” (6%), and “Poly adversity” (6%). Death of a close family member and sexual abuse did not cluster with other adversities. The clustering did not differ by gender. Poverty was strongly related to both individual ACEs and clusters. These findings demonstrate that ACEs cluster in specific patterns and that poverty is strongly related to this. Therefore, reducing child poverty might be one strategy for reducing ACEs.

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