Bereavement

Question 1

What is Bereavement?

Answer 1

the loss of one’s spouse that leads to physical illness, or even death.

Question 2

Which of the sexes tend to live longer or likely experience the loss of a spouse?

Answer 2

women

Question 3

A ______ friend or relative is typically the caregiver of the dying individual.

Answer 3

female

Question 4

What groups of people are typically studied in the loss effect?

Answer 4

married, divorced, and single people

Question 5

What is the loss effect?

Answer 5

Bereavement

Question 6

Out of the 3 groups (married, divorced and single), which is ideal in studying the loss effect?

Answer 6

none, all needs to be considered

Question 7

What are some of the evidence used in the findings of the loss effect?

Answer 7

• days of disability (missed work)
• symptom report (pain or illness)
• doctor and hospital visits
• mortality (state of being mortal, or susceptible to death; the opposite of immortality.)
• immune system function

Question 8

what is the problem in the evidence days of disability?

Answer 8

could be due to emotional problems

Question 9

what is the problem in the evidence symptom report?

Answer 9

could be reporting or noticing bias

Question 10

what is the problem in the evidence on doctor or hospital visits?

Answer 10

could be because they stopped taking care of themselves, or were pressured to get check-uped

Question 11

what is the problem in the evidence of mortality?

Answer 11

could be shared environment, or that marriage prevented illness

Question 12

what is the problem in the evidence of illness?

Answer 12

is the loss effect just stress? or is there something more?

Question 13

What were the two studies used to make associations between bereavement and immune function?

Answer 13

1) Bereaved women had lower natural killer cell activity.

2) Widows had lower NK cell activity one month after their husbands death than one month before.

Question 14

What are the stages of grief?

Answer 14

1) Denial/Disbelief
2) Bargaining/Yearning
3) Anger
4) Depression
5) Acceptance

Question 15

Compare and contras the hypothesized stage theory of grief and the actual data on stages of grief.

Answer 15

the hypothesized stage theory showed that they follow the order (denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and acceptance), with each peaking and dropping one after the other, but acceptances starts low and gradually increases by the end.

the actually data shows acceptance scored highest right from the beginning and continues to rise above the other factors, but when the scores were rescaled to show intensity, it clearly showed the same hypothesized theory on the stages.

Question 16

Summarize some of the key components of the stages of grief.

Answer 16

• the peaks in the actual finding, follows the same order as the hypothesized model.
• acceptance and yearning are most common reaction of loss, not disbelief.
• the negative feelings tend to hit their peaks after 6 months.
• It is possible to over-interpret stages of grief model.

Question 17

What are some of the common myths about dealing with a loss?

Answer 17

• people assume that depression is inevitable
• people who don’t go through depression after a loss has a psychological problem
• working through a loss is necessary.

Question 18

What does the actual data show for in the myth that people assume that depression is inevitable?

Answer 18

• only 35% of widows are clinically depressed, 14% for mormon widows.
• the % is lowered if the loss was not complicated and the relationship was healthy and untroubled.
• people will generally get over it in about a year

Question 19

What does the actual data show for in the myth that assumes that people who don’t go through depression after a death has a psychological problem?

Answer 19

• 65% of people who were not distress after a loss did not become more distressed later, and only 3 out of the 71 people became depressed later.
• people who show high distress after a loss are not more likely to show less later .
• people with low distress after a loss are not more likely to have high distress later.

Question 20

What does the actual data show for in the myth that assumes that working through a loss is necessary?

Answer 20

• people who forcefully trying to work through a loss after 3 weeks, experience worsening physical and mental health 13 months later.
• no evidence show that working through a loss is effective.

Question 21

What does the actual data show for in the myth that assumes that people will get over it in about a year?

Answer 21

• there is no set time

- those with complicated griefs will take longer

Question 22

What is the take home message for dealing with a loss?

Answer 22

there is no one way or course people will go through with loss.

Question 23

What is one of the biggest problems with receiving support during times of loss>

Answer 23

• people often don’t know what to say/say the wrong things

- people feel more anxious when the loss is tragic -> support is not given

Question 24

What are some of the helpful things people can do to help bereaved people?

Answer 24

• allow people to express themselves.
• find people who have gone through a loss.
• instrumental support (cooking, cleaning, kids)
• keep regular contact

Question 25

What are some of the things health psychologist do to help bereaved people?

Answer 25

(group interventions)

• social support
• counseling
• open discussion
• write letter/create memorials
• reappraise cognitions
• teach skills: relaxation/coping
• pair up with people who have long experience

Question 26

What is a method for treating complicated grief?

Answer 26

use a record and recall method –> record yourself talking about the death and relisten later