In contact with grief: Affectionate touch and intimacy in bereaved parents.

Although child loss impairs well-being, its impact on behavioral exchanges between bereaved parents remains understudied. We compared bereaved and non-bereaved couples regarding affectionate touch levels, the role of affectionate touch in intimacy, and the association between partners' affectionate touch similarity and intimacy. Bereaved (228 couples, 27 individuals) and non-bereaved (258 couples, seven individuals) people participated in our seven-day diary study.

On the Classification and Reporting of Prolonged Grief: Assessment and Research Guidelines.

Learning Objectives After Participating In This Cme Activity, The Psychiatrist Should Be Better Able To: • Explain the steps required for diagnosis of mental disorders in diagnostic handbooks.• Identify current procedures for classifying and reporting prolonged grief disorder.

Abstract: Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) was added to the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases in 2018 and to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in its 2022 text revision.

Do insecure attachment styles predict prolonged grief symptoms? Significant null findings.

Insecure attachment is proposed to be a risk factor in the development and persistence of severe grief. Although prior research demonstrates positive cross-sectional and longitudinal correlations between attachment styles and prolonged grief symptoms, controlled longitudinal analyses yield fewer convincing results. Therefore, we sought to further clarify the concurrent and longitudinal associations between these constructs.

Stages of Grief Portrayed on the Internet: A Systematic Analysis and Critical Appraisal.

Kübler-Ross's stage model of grief, while still extremely popular and frequently accepted, has also elicited significant criticisms against its adoption as a guideline for grieving. Inaccurate portrayal of the model may lead to bereaved individuals feeling that they are grieving incorrectly. This may also result in ineffectual support from loved ones and healthcare professionals.

Loneliness in Bereavement: Measurement Matters.

The role of loneliness in the bereavement experience has been reported as substantial, with the death of a close person leaving a considerable void in the life of the bereaved. Yet, there is lack of agreement about its precise role and, notably, whether loneliness should be included as a core symptom for diagnosis of grief complications. The ongoing threat of heightened social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic underlines the need to understand the impact of loneliness, and to accurately chart its prevalence, intensity, duration, and associated difficulties in the context of bereavement.

A systematic review of loneliness in bereavement: Current research and future directions.

Bereaved people suffer from loneliness and loneliness is associated with poor mental health. In this study, this topic is reviewed. An agenda is suggested for future research.

Upward and Downward Counterfactual Thought After Loss: A Multiwave Controlled Longitudinal Study.

Counterfactual thoughts, mental simulations about how a situation may have turned out differently (i.e., "if only …, then …"), can reduce mental health after stressful life-events.

Bereavement in Times of COVID-19: A Review and Theoretical Framework.

A review of the literature on adaptation to bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted to assess the current state of knowledge. Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases were searched for studies published during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 outbreak. 44 articles were included in the review.

Does pre-event lack of emotional support increase the risk of post-event PTSD, anxiety, depression symptoms and lack of support? A comparative population-based study among victims of threat and violence.

Our knowledge about the effects of perceived emotional support on PTSD, anxiety and depressive symptoms after serious threat and violence is primarily based on post-event studies. Very little is known about the extent to which (1) victims lacking pre-event emotional support are more at risk of post-event symptoms and lack of post-event support than victims with pre-event emotional support, and (2) victims with pre-event emotional support and victims lacking emotional support are more at risk of post-event anxiety and depressive symptoms than nonvictims with similar pre-event support levels. For this purpose, we conducted a 2-wave prospective study (VICTIMS) using the Dutch population-based longitudinal LISS panel.

Which groups affected by Potentially Traumatic Events (PTEs) are most at risk for a lack of social support? A prospective population-based study on the 12-month prevalence of PTEs and risk factors for a lack of post-event social support.

Objectives: Little is known about the 12-month prevalence of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and to what extent the type of PTE is a risk factor for post-event lack of social support. In addition, it is largely unknown if pre-event mental health problems and loneliness, and demographics are risk factors for a lack of support. Aim of the present prospective study is to fill these gaps in evidence-based knowledge.

Cremation and Grief: Are Ways of Commemorating the Dead Related to Adjustment Over Time?

Funeral services are known to serve multiple functions for bereaved persons. There is also a common, intuitively reasonable assumption of positive associations between engaging in funeral activities and adjustment to bereavement. We examined whether restricting ceremonial cremation arrangements to a minimum has a negative association with grief over time.

Impact of nationwide enhanced implementation of best practices in pancreatic cancer care (PACAP-1): a multicenter stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: Pancreatic cancer has a very poor prognosis. Best practices for the use of chemotherapy, enzyme replacement therapy, and biliary drainage have been identified but their implementation in daily clinical practice is often suboptimal. We hypothesized that a nationwide program to enhance implementation of these best practices in pancreatic cancer care would improve survival and quality of life.

Bereavement or breakup: Differences in networks of depression.

Background: Prior network analyses demonstrated that the death of a loved one potentially precedes specific depression symptoms, primarily loneliness, which in turn links to other depressive symptoms. In this study, we extend prior research by comparing depression symptom network structures following two types of marital disruption: bereavement versus separation.

Methods: We fitted two Gaussian Graphical Models to cross-sectional data from a Swiss survey of older persons (145 bereaved, 217 separated, and 362 married controls), and compared symptom levels across bereaved and separated individuals.

Homesickness in social context: An ecological momentary assessment study among 1st-year university students.

Homesickness is common among university students and associated with mental health problems. Most previous studies assessed homesickness as a summary of the past weeks. However, there may be significant fluctuations across situations.

No pain, no gain: cross-lagged analyses of posttraumatic growth and anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress and prolonged grief symptoms after loss.

Background And Objectives: Major negative life-events including bereavement can precipitate perceived positive life-changes, termed posttraumatic growth (PTG). While traditionally considered an adaptive phenomenon, it has been suggested that PTG represents a maladaptive coping response similar to cognitive avoidance. To clarify the function of PTG, it is crucial to establish concurrent and longitudinal associations of PTG with post-event mental health problems.

Feasibility and effectiveness of trifluridine/tipiracil in metastatic colorectal cancer: real-life data from The Netherlands.

Background: The RECOURSE trial showed clinical efficacy for trifluridine/tipiracil for refractory metastatic colorectal cancer patients. We assessed the feasibility and effectiveness of trifluridine/tipiracil in daily clinical practice in The Netherlands.

Methods: Medical records of patients from 17 centers treated in the trifluridine/tipiracil compassionate use program were reviewed and checked for RECOURSE eligibility criteria.

Community-based counseling reaches and helps bereaved people living in low-income households.

Objective: Poverty is related to increased grief-related mental health problems, leading some to suggest bereavement counseling should be tailored to income. However, information about accessibility and effectiveness of such counseling programs serving low-income households is scarce. This longitudinal study therefore investigated the association between poverty and complicated grief (CG), and the effectiveness of a community-based bereavement counseling program in serving low-income households.

Effectiveness of bereavement counselling through a community-based organization: A naturalistic, controlled trial.

This controlled, longitudinal investigation tested the effectiveness of a bereavement counselling model for adults on reducing complicated grief (CG) symptoms. Participants (N = 344; 79% female; mean age: 49.3 years) were adult residents of Scotland who were bereaved of a close relation or partner, experiencing elevated levels of CG, and/or risks of developing CG.

Cautioning Health-Care Professionals.

Science and practice seem deeply stuck in the so-called stage theory of grief. Health-care professionals continue to "prescribe" stages. Basically, this perspective endorses the idea that bereaved people go through a set pattern of specific reactions over time following the death of a loved one.

The impact of bereaved parents' perceived grief similarity on relationship satisfaction.

The present research focused on bereaved parents' perceived grief similarity, and aimed to investigate the concurrent and longitudinal effects of the perceptions that the partner has less, equal, or more grief intensity than oneself on relationship satisfaction. Participants of our longitudinal study were 229 heterosexual bereaved Dutch couples who completed questionnaires 6, 13, and 20 months after the loss of their child. Average age of participants was 40.

Initial Validation of a Comprehensive Assessment Instrument for Bereavement-Related Grief Symptoms and Risk of Complications: The Indicator of Bereavement Adaptation-Cruse Scotland (IBACS).

Objective: This study assessed the validity of the Indicator of Bereavement Adaptation Cruse Scotland (IBACS). Designed for use in clinical and non-clinical settings, the IBACS measures severity of grief symptoms and risk of developing complications.

Method: N = 196 (44 male, 152 female) help-seeking, bereaved Scottish adults participated at two timepoints: T1 (baseline) and T2 (after 18 months).

Does worry affect adjustment to bereavement? A longitudinal investigation.

Background And Objectives: Repetitive thought is a trans-diagnostic risk-factor for development of psychopathology. Research on repetitive thought in bereaved individuals has focused primarily on clarifying the role of rumination, repetitive thinking about past negative events and/or negative emotions. While detrimental effects of rumination have been demonstrated following bereavement, surprisingly few studies have aimed to clarify the role of worry, repetitive thinking about potential future negative events, in adjustment to loss.