Intolerance of uncertainty and emotional distress following the death of a loved one

Abstract

Research has shown that intolerance of uncertainty (IU) – the tendency to react negatively to situations that are uncertain – is involved in worry and generalized anxiety disorder, as well as in other anxiety symptoms and disorders. To our knowledge, no studies have yet examined the association between IU and emotional distress connected with the death of a loved one. Yet, it seems plausible that those who have more difficulties to tolerate the uncertainties that oftentimes occur following such a loss experience more intense distress. The current study examined this assumption, using self-reported data from 134 bereaved individuals. Findings showed that IU was positively and significantly correlated with symptom levels of complicated grief and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), even when controlling for time since loss (the single demographic/loss-related variable associated with symptom levels), and for neuroticism and worry, which are both correlates of IU. Furthermore, IU was specifically related with worry and symptom levels of PTSD, but not complicated grief, when controlling the shared variance between worry, complicated grief severity, and PTSD-severity. The present findings complement prior research that has shown that IU is a cognitive vulnerability factor for worry, and indicate that it may also be involved in emotional distress following loss.     

Healing from the loss of a loved one to suicide

Healing from the Loss of a Loved One to Suicide is a personal journey to creatively process emotions and memories associated with losing my brother in 2012. This auto-ethnography is a patchwork that flows from present to past events in unforeseeable directions. The process of writing transported me back to the moment. I found out about my brother’s death up to present day. It engages the topics of depression, guilt, blame and trauma that survivor’s feel and offers an approach to finding inner peace.     

Resident's loved ones support group: an anecdotal report on a place to share

The author offers an informal report on a project that has produced positive results, albeit not with the usual supportive numerical data that might be found in a typical research-oriented format. Stories rather than statistics provide the relevant information.     

Parental grief following the death of an infant—a follow-up over one year

The course of parental bereavement during the first year following an infant's death was investigated. Also, the differences in mothers' and fathers' reactions, the differences according to the mothers' occupational role, and the similarities in couples' reactions were studied. From a total sample of 59 families, 13 families answered their questionnaires at all three time points (1, 6 and 13 months), 22 families responded at two time points, and 37 families responded at some point following the loss. Measures relating to anxiety, depression, bodily discomfort, general well being and impact of event were used at the three time points. The results showed that grief, as measured by the different inventories, decreased over time. The decrease was most evident from 6 to 13 months, and most prominent in women. A considerable number of the parents were still actively dealing with the loss all through the first year of bereavement. In most couples the mother reported most distress. Mothers were significantly more depressed than fathers at all time points, and mothers also had significantly higher anxiety and lower general health at 1 and 13 months, and intrusive scores of 1 and 6 months. Women at home evidenced more grief at all three time points than women employed outside the home. A high or low score in one spouse was more strongly correlated with a similar score in the other at 1 and 13 months, than at 6 months. The implications for counselling of parents, with special emphasis on the employment situation of the mother, is emphasized.     

A case study approach to delivering and evaluating services by a school psychologist

Two interrelated problems in delivering school psychological services by one school psychologist acted as a motivating force behind this study: the problem of how to plan and render services to a school system where the ratio of students to school psychologists is high, and the problem of how to determine the degree of effectiveness of these services. This study describes an approach which consisted of three distinct services rendered by a school psychologist. Evaluative measurements of the services were made in two areas: the effect of the services on the ongoing operations of the system, and the evaluation of the services by school personnel exposed to the services directly or indirectly. The relative merits and the limitations of such an approach are discussed.     

A comparative modeling approach to a large decision support system

A comparative modeling approach is proposed for a decision support framework enabling users to have access to different modeling techniques within a single system (depending on the problem and the resources available). Three modeling techniques were selected to illustrate a marketing strategic decision support system: analytic, heuristic, and data-driven. The preimplementation choice and the trade-offs of each technique are explained qualitatively. Subsequently, the unification of the three techniques is discussed, and the benefits and problems associated with the comparative modeling approach are evaluated. Hean Lee Poh received his Diplom-Ingenieur in electrical engineering from the University of Paderborn, Germany, in 1982, his M.S. in computer science from California Institute of Technology in 1987, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in engineering-economic systems from Stanford University in 1991. His main research interests are neural network algorithms and their application in marketing strategies, financial modeling, and decision support systems. He is also interested in quantitative business modeling. He teaches courses in fourth-generation languages and information systems research methodology. He has been with the National University of Singapore since 1984 and is currently a lecturer.     

Community competence: A positive approach to needs assessment

A procedure was developed for assessing residents' perceptions of community functioning. A questionnaire, derived from Cottrell's work in the area of community competence and elaborated upon by community workers and researchers, was constructed and field tested in five rural communities. In a telephone interview, 433 residents were surveyed. Responses were analyzed to determine which items discriminated among the communities and to what extent they represented Cottrell's original model. Representing six of Cottrell's eight conditions of competence, 14 items were judged to discriminate among the communities (analysis of variance, F-test, maximum p = .008). A factor analysis of the 14 items revealed four factors that were labeled Democratic Participation Style, Crime, Resource Adequacy and Use, and Decision-Making Interactions. The factors are consistent with Cottrell's model and explain 35% of the variance. These findings are discussed in relation to current community research and methodological constraints.     

A multiple case study approach to work stress prevention in Europe

Work stress has become a major issue among European employees. The current practice of its prevention seems disappointing, as work stress prevention programmes are predominantly reactive and biased to the individual. The lack of organization-level intervention studies is a barrier to progress in reducing work-related stress. In addition to the “true experimental approach”, multiple case studies may provide an adequate research strategy for addressing the potential impact of stress interventions in organizations. The study aim was to obtain more knowledge with respect to evidence-based work stress prevention in Europe, by focusing on both content (cause-effect relationships) and process (“how”). Therefore it was decided: (1) to collect from each European Union member state a work stress intervention study; (2) to analyse each of these cases as to content and process factors; and (3) to systematically compare these studies in a step-by-step approach. Through a network approach, 11 cases were identified. Nine projects received an acceptable methodological standard and were included in this study. Evaluation of these cases reveals that stress prevention is no “one time event”, nor merely a technical process. It is concluded that “true prevention” (i.e., preventive measures that are based on an adequate diagnosis identifying risk factors and risk groups, which theoretically and logically fit in with the problems, and which are introduced and implemented in a proper way) may be beneficial to both the employee and the organization.     

A systems approach to the brain basis of emotion also needs developmental and locationist views - the case of Tourette's syndrome

The closeness of somatosensory phenomena and emotional states can be critically extended into a clinical perspective by referring to Tourette's Syndrome (TS). Two examples are discussed in this commentary: (1) the neurodevelopmental approach to the pre- and post-tic sensorimotor urges, and (2) the TS treatment with deep brain stimulation. It is shown that in TS, both views (locationist and constructionist) need to be combined along the lifespan in order to get a more realistic picture of the brain basis of emotion.     

A modern psychoanalytic approach to caregiver support groups

Caregiver support groups traditionally focus on education, reduction of social isolation, and supportive sharing. However, the support group literature has increasingly reflected an interest in the emotional effects of caregiving. While some authors promote the therapeutic value of supporting defenses against painful feelings, others have documented the value of encouraging their expression in groups. This paper is based on the author’s experience in co-leading an Alzheimer’s family support group, using a modern psychoanalytic approach which encourages the full expression of the caregivers’ emotional experience. Using emotional communication to explore resistances to intimacy and aggression in groups, the author demonstrates how the interplay of co-leadership and Modern Psychoanalytic theory and techniques promotes group cohesion and encourages maturational growth in group members. This model is also prescribed as an antidote to leader “burnout,” a not uncommon phenomenon for leaders of such emotionally charged groups. Private Practice, New York, New York.     

Toward a multimethod approach to assessing the effects of social support

Two studies were done to assess the direct and stress-buffering effects of social support on psychological symptoms of college students. Three conceptually distinct measures were used to assess different aspects of social support: receipt of supportive transactions, satisfaction with support received, and social support network characteristics. The results indicated a significant direct and stress-buffering effect for support satisfaction in reducing psychological symptomatology. Two measures of support network size were used: number of people who were both a source of supportive and of upsetting interactions (conflicted support network), and number of people who were only mentioned as a source of support (unconflicted support network). Conflicted network size was positively related to symptomatology and increased the relationship between stress and symptomatology. No direct or interaction effects were obtained for unconflicted network size in predicting symptomatology.     

Reactions following the sudden death of a classmate

Findings from a study of adolescents grief reactions following the sudden death of a friend and a classmate are presented. The group (26 classmates) was followed up after one and nine months. Interviews and a questionnaire including the Imapact of Event Scale and the Hogan Grief Inventory were used. The general grief scores on the Hogan Grief Inventory indicated that the grief level was similar to that of adolescents who had lost siblings. The scores on the Impact of Event Scale showed a descline in distress level from 1 to 9 months. However, after 9 months about 1/5 of the students still scored above a clinical cut-off point indicating post-traumatic stress levels. Recommendations for improving help following such events are presented.     

A procedural approach to the study of aphasia

Linguistic models have a fundamental weakness in the study of aphasia in that as models of a single linguistic competence they cannot in principle explain dissociations in language disturbances. Procedural (i.e., computational) models of specific language abilities/tasks are to be preferred in that they can explain dissociation data and they are necessarily very detailed to account for varied patterns of disrupted behavior. A procedural model of sentence production is outlined and the model is applied to account for some aspects of agrammatic speech.     

Expert assessment of competence to make a will following the death of the testator

The paper expounds the legal basis in the DDR for preparing a retrospective assessment of a deceased person's capacity to make a will, and examines the special features and the conclusions of 26 expert psychiatric opinions. A commentary is supplied on the characteristics of the situation.     

A case study on support for students' thinking through computer-mediated communication

This is a case study on support for thinking through computer-mediated communication. Two graduate students were supervised in their research using computer-mediated communication, which was asynchronous and written; the supervisor was not present. The students' reports pointed out there was more planning and editing and low interactivity in this approach relative to face-to-face communication. These attributes were confirmed by their supervisor's report. The students also suggested that the latter was effective in support of a production stage of thinking in research, while the former approach was effective in support of examination of thinking. For distance education to be successful, an appropriate combination of communication media must consider students' thinking stages. Finally, transient and permanent effects should be discriminated in computer-mediated communication.