Differences in meanings made according to prolonged grief symptomatology.

Abstract

This study investigated differences in specific meanings made following bereavement, according to participants' prolonged grief symptomatology. A survey of 580 bereaved adults (Mage?=?61.6 years, 70.7% female) showed 13 meanings predicted symptomatology, with the largest differences between the two lower symptomatology groups and the high symptomatology group; the latter was more likely to report no meaning. The results provide further support for empirically distinct groups within the bereaved population, not only in terms of symptoms, etiology, outcomes, courses, and treatment responses, but also in their meanings made, and may assist in advancing meaning reconstruction interventions.