Although no guidelines support the use of benzodiazepines in bereavement care, clinicians continue to use this medication for surviving family members. An anonymous survey about perinatal death was sent to 1500 United States obstetricians. One question assessed beliefs about prescribing sedatives to bereaved mothers. Almost half (49%) of 804 obstetricians endorsed the use of sedatives, such as ...

In this Review, we look at the relation between bereavement and physical and mental health. Although grief is not a disease and most people adjust without professional psychological intervention, bereavement is associated with excess risk of mortality, particularly in the early weeks and months after loss. It is related to decrements in physical health, indicated by presence of symptoms and ill...

This study examined negative HIV-related expectancies, AIDS-related bereavement, and the interaction of expectancies and bereavement as predictors of the onset of significant HIV-related symptoms among previously asymptomatic HIV-positive gay men. From a longitudinal psychobiological investigation, 72 men were selected who had been HIV-positive and asymptomatic from study entry (approximately 3...

Overview Definitions of Terms Grief Bereavement Mourning Types of Grief Reactions Anticipatory Grief Normal or Common Grief Stage Models of Normal Grief Patterns of Complicated Grief Prolonged or Complicated Grief as a Mental Disorder Risk Factors for Complicated Grief and Other Negative Bereavement Outcomes Situational: Expected or Unexpected Death Personal: Personality Characteristics Persona...

The effects of long-term and recent conjugal bereavement were investigated in a sample of 2,104 Swedish twins followed between 1984 and 1993. In co-twin-control analyses, the bereaved twin experienced significantly more depressive symptoms, more loneliness, and less life satisfaction than the married co-twin. This association existed for recently widowed (< 3 years) of both sexes. Long-term wid...

This study documents the emotional experiences and coping strategies of a group of caregivers as they move from the diagnosis of a close family member with terminal cancer through the stages of caring and post bereavement. Supportive evidence, matching that of previous literature, was gathered regarding the impact of such care, but additional findings counter the notion of "burden" by revealing...

Relationships between bereavement following the death of a grandparent and adolescent death anxiety levels were examined using Hogan's Inventory of Bereavement and the revised Death Anxiety Scale within private schools. Of the 226 adolescent respondents (aged 11-18) who completed questionnaires, 124 had experienced the death of a grandparent. The regression model indicated that grief due to ber...

UNLABELLED Neuropsychological rehabilitation is based on the nature and scope of neuropsychological symptoms identified through structured interviews and standardized tests. Here, the focus is to understand brain injury recovery phases and effectively deal with post injury grief-bereavement process. We wanted to test the effect of neuropsychological functioning of a bullet shot/penetrating inju...

The vast majority of bereavement research is conducted after a loss has occurred. Thus, knowledge of the divergent trajectories of grieving or their antecedent predictors is lacking. This study gathered prospective data on 205 individuals several years prior to the death of their spouse and at 6- and 18-months postloss. Five core bereavement patterns were identified: common grief, chronic grief...

Background. The study aimed to examine sex differences in healthcare use before and after widowhood to investigate whether reduced healthcare use among widowers compared with widows may partially explain excess mortality and more adverse health outcomes among men than women after spousal loss. Methods. All individuals alive and aged at least 60 years in 1996 and who became widowed in the period...