aBsmacTThe Grief Experience Inventory (GEI) and the MMPI were used to assess bereavement reactions in 102 newly bereaved individuals; 107 controls were also assessed. Intensities of bereavement reactions were compared across three types of deaths experienced, i.e., spouse, child, and parent. Significantly higher intensities of grief were noted in parents surviving their child's death. A distinct number of physiological symptoms were noted in the bereaved group as compared to controls. Frequent church attenders were more likely to respond with higher optimism and social desirability but more repression of bereavement responses than were less frequent church attenders. Income did not appear to contribute negatively to bereavement itself but rather to the constellation of debilitating variables which surrounds those with low income. There were no differences in bereavement intensities between those who survived a chronic-illness death as compared with sudden death situations. 0 1980. Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.

Studies indicate that many factors that impinge on bereaved individuals can cause an elevated health risk. These include sudden unexpected death, lack of social support, concurrent crises, ambivalent or dependent personalities, age, gender, and death of a child. While any one of these factors alone can cause problems, a combination of factors poses the most major risks. This paper reviews the evidence of risks among four general categories: biographic/demographic factors, individual factors, mode of death, and circumstances following the loss.

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Eighty-six bereaved participants were interviewed shortly after the death of a close family member and again eighteen months later. The Grief Experience Inventory and MMPI were administered on both occasions. Responses were separated into three groups according to the mode of death; sudden death (N = 33), long-term chronic illness (N = 2 3 , and short-term chronic illness death (N = 26)