Bereavement and its accompanying psychological response (grief) constitute potent experiences that necessitate the reorganization of cognitive-affective representations of lost significant attachment figures during both wakefulness and dreaming. The goals of this preliminary study were to explore whether the dream content of 77 adults with…

Background: Childhood behavior problems are associated with premature mortality. To identify plausible pathways that may account for this association, we explored the extent to which childhood behavior problems relate to health behaviors and health outcomes at midlife. Methods: The Aberdeen Children of the 1950s (ACONF) study comprises 12,500…

Although bereavement-related emotional distress usually remits on its own over time, approximately 20% of bereaved individuals experience chronic emotional difficulties following the loss (Prigerson & Jacobs, 2001). Although several factors have been shown to be associated with poor outcomes post-loss, few studies have examined the relationship…

Investigated the concurrent validity of three measures of death anxiety in undergraduate students. Results showed significant intercorrelations among the three scales; only one scale (Templer) differentiated first-born and only-children from later-born children. The former had higher death anxiety scores. (Author)

Adolescents (N=32) ages 13-18 were interviewed about their experiences of death and loss. Subjects attended suburban public high school or a facility for adjudicated urban youth. Urban adolescents' perception of death involved reference to violence or religion. The most distasteful aspect of death to suburban students was suffering, while to…

The "high split" group scored significantly more apprehensive on both The Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale and Templer's Death Anxiety Scale. This inter-group difference was attributable to the "high split" group's greater concern with the state of death, as opposed to the process of dying. (Author)

Uses 2 instruments to compare 20 people who experienced the death of a parent between ages 12 and 18 with 22 people whose parents had not divorced, separated, or died. Higher correlations between threat as measured by these two instruments were found for the control group than the death-loss group alone. Theoretical and methodological issues are…

Examines the comparative prevalence of grief reactions, behavioral symptoms, and pathological bereavement in 25 kibbutz and 21 non-kibbutz children between 3 1/2 and 11 1/2 years of age. Findings indicated that, for a large proportion of the children, loss of the father becomes a traumatic situation influencing functioning and causing behavioral…

The behaviors and changes of normal kibbutz children over a period of one to six months after bereavement are presented. Findings reveal that the death of a father in war brings about a severe stress situation for the child at both the preschool and and the middle-childhood age. (Author)

Younger spouses initially manifested greater grief; older spouses showed exacerbated grief reactions. While denial seemed to be a defense against anxiety, elevations on the Social Isolation, Depersonalization, and Death Anxiety scales for older spouses showed the debilitating effects of loneliness and fear. (Author)

Two types of reaction of college students to parental loss are discussed: protracted grief resolved in therapy and incorporation of the loss into the student's self-concept leading to a distortion of perceptions. Therapeutic guidelines and strategies for treatment are outlined. (JMF)

Examined changes in health, functional activities, family cohesion, and psychological well-being among 18 bereaved elderly mothers following the death of an adult child. Results showed changes in all areas, but especially striking was the high level of psychological distress. Recommends increased research and clinical attention. (Author/ABL)

Presents results of investigation into the relationship between attributions of self-blame for the death of a loved one and subsequent psychological recovery. Subjects (n=244) identified the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses they used at the time of their loss. Self-blame was associated with poorer long-term adjustment. (JBJ)

The psychological stress produced by life events is actively researched because of the effects this stress has on physical and psychological functioning. Bereavement may be the most stressful of these events and therefore it is the subject of this study. A sample of adults from three different geographical areas of Kentucky was assembled and 71.5…

Much of the research on bereavement and its consequences fails to account for social network factors. A sample of widows participated in a comprehensive national study to determine factors that enhanced or lessened their psychological well-being shortly after the death of their husbands, and over time. Two groups responded, those in the Crisis…