The mourning process: the mediators of mourning

Question 1

Who is behind the mediators of mourning and how many are there?

Answer 1

Worden and there are 7 mediators

Question 2

What is the first mediator?

Answer 2

Who the person was who died
-Kinship defines the deceased’s relationship to the survivor
-How would you expect this to influence grief?
-Age of the person at the time of death can influence how grieving occurs

Question 3

What is the second mediator?

Answer 3

The nature of the attachment
-Strength of the attachment
-Security of the attachment
-The ambivalence in the relationship
-Conflicts with the deceased
-Dependent relationships

Question 4

What is the third mediator?

Answer 4

How the person died
-NASH: Natural, Accident, Suicide, Homicide
-HUMANS: Homicide, Unknown, Medical misadventures, Accident, Natural, Suicide

Question 5

What are some factors affection mediator three?

Answer 5

How the person died
-Proximity
-Suddenness/ unexpectedness
-Violent/ traumatic death
-Multiple losses lead to bereavement overload
-Preventable death
-Stigmatized death
-Ambiguous death

Question 6

What do people struggle the most with?

Answer 6

Processing a loss

Question 7

What is the fourth mediator?

Answer 7

Historical antecedent
-What came before
-How were previous loses handled
-Mental health issues
-Family issues

Question 8

What is the fifth mediator?

Answer 8

Personality traits

Question 9

Who suggested that taking mourner’s personality structure into account when understanding the mourning process for an individual

Answer 9

Bowlby

Question 10

What are the variables to consider when looking at mediator five?

Answer 10

1. Gender
2. Coping style
3. Attachment style
4. Cognition style
5. Ego strength
6. Core beliefs and values

Question 11

Men and women are out of synch with the other when it comes to their grieving practices

Answer 11

Incongruent grieving

Question 12

What are some of the factors looked at when looking at the gender variable in personality

Answer 12

-Socialization differs between genders
-In ancient Greece, men and women grieved very similarly
-Today gender differences become apparent between ages 12-18
-Men who lose spouses after 50 or more years of marriage effectively cope with the loss

Question 13

When did the shift in grieving type based on gender start to occur?

Answer 13

-During the industrial revolution is when the change began to occur. Men became more focused on work (and wealth) and less focuses on emotions (all work and no play)

Question 14

Changing thoughts and acts that an individual uses to manage the external and internal demands of a situation

Answer 14

Coping styles in mediator five

Question 15

Type of coping style using the skill at one’s disposal solve problems; issues when ineffective techniques - individual tend to give up when it’s not working
-Not effective when it comes to death

Answer 15

Problem solving

Question 16

Type of coping skill most effective since its always redefining the situation and looking for redemptive qualities even in bad times; open to support
-Most advisable by Worden

Answer 16

Active emotional coping

Question 17

Type of coping skill that eludes the issue at all costs; a maladaptive behavior causing the person to withdraw and fear commitment, typically a cause for anxiety
-No advisable by Worden

Answer 17

Avoident emotional coping

Question 18

-Set up early in life
-Goal is to maintain or establish proximity to attachment figures
-Attachment figure’s responsiveness determines our personalities
-Traits are stable, but shaped by traumatic events
-Adult attachments are difference because both adults are attachment figures for the other

Answer 18

Attachment style in mediator five

Question 19

Reflects attitude and thinking process, our attitudes and thoughts affect the healing process
-Optimism vs pesimism

Answer 19

Cognitive style in mediator five

Question 20

A person living in the negative side of emotional events focusing solely on the negativity

Answer 20

Rumination

Question 21

An individuals self esteem and self efficacy
-Death challenges these areas making task 3 more difficult

Answer 21

Ego strength in mediator five

Question 22

What a person finds to be meaningful

Answer 22

Core belief and value in mediator five

Question 23

What is the sixth mediator?

Answer 23

Social variables
-We are all socially connected in some way
-Support is necessary
-If support is satisfactory, it is easier for healing to occur
-Ex. family, friends, pets, support groups, roles within family and friends, religious outlets

Question 24

What is the seventh mediator?

Answer 24

Concurrent stresses
-Continue dealing with the normal stresses of life
-Like does not stop just because the death occurred for survivor