TY - JOUR
T1 - The Effects of Bereavement Time on the Relationship Between Coping Strategies and Psychological Distress
AU - Uchida, Tomohiro
AU - Satake, Noriaki
AU - Takayama, Chiin
AU - Uno, Akari
AU - Nakaho, Toshimichi
AU - Inoue, Akira
AU - Saito, Hidemitsu
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science under Grants 15A04108 and 18K03086. We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between bereaved individuals’ coping patterns, mental health, and time post-loss. A questionnaire using the Coping with Bereavement Scale (CBS) and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) was completed by 173 family members of individuals who died from cancer between August 2013 and March 2016. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a three-factor solution for the CBS comprised of “life orientation,” “avoidance,” and “retaining ties” with the deceased. Scores on retaining ties were significantly but weakly correlated with K6 scores; however, the intensity of this relationship increased with more time post-bereavement, and individuals who retained strong ties with the deceased for two years or more demonstrated poorer mental health. Although retaining ties with the deceased might be an adaptive psychological process following bereavement, in this study, long-term persistence with that coping strategy was associated with greater overall psychological distress. Further research is needed to identify optimal coping methods to address evolving needs during the bereavement process.
AB - The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between bereaved individuals’ coping patterns, mental health, and time post-loss. A questionnaire using the Coping with Bereavement Scale (CBS) and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) was completed by 173 family members of individuals who died from cancer between August 2013 and March 2016. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a three-factor solution for the CBS comprised of “life orientation,” “avoidance,” and “retaining ties” with the deceased. Scores on retaining ties were significantly but weakly correlated with K6 scores; however, the intensity of this relationship increased with more time post-bereavement, and individuals who retained strong ties with the deceased for two years or more demonstrated poorer mental health. Although retaining ties with the deceased might be an adaptive psychological process following bereavement, in this study, long-term persistence with that coping strategy was associated with greater overall psychological distress. Further research is needed to identify optimal coping methods to address evolving needs during the bereavement process.
KW - Coping
KW - family caregivers
KW - period after bereavement
KW - psychological distress
KW - retaining ties
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U2 - 10.1080/15524256.2022.2093315
DO - 10.1080/15524256.2022.2093315
M3 - Article
C2 - 35776755
AN - SCOPUS:85133293136
SN - 1552-4256
VL - 18
SP - 235
EP - 251
JO - Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care
JF - Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care
IS - 3
ER -
