Does worry affect adjustment to bereavement? A longitudinal investigation

Abstract

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. This study sought to fill this gap in knowledge. Methods/Design: One hundred eighty-three bereaved individuals (85.3% women) filled out questionnaires on sociodemographic and loss-related characteristics, worry, and symptom measures of depression, anxiety, and prolonged grief. After six months, 155 participants completed worry and symptom measures again. Using multiple regression analyses, concurrent and longitudinal associations between loss-related variables, worry, and symptoms of psychopathology were examined. Results: Main results were that worry was strongly positively associated with symptoms of anxiety, depression and prolonged grief concurrently and also predicted higher levels of anxiety, depression and prolonged grief longitudinally. Conclusions: Findings suggest that worry influences adjustment to bereavement negatively and may be a potential target in grief therapy, especially when aiming to reduce anxiety. ARTICLE HISTORY

Prevalence of Anxiety Symptoms and Their Association With Loss Experience in a Large Cohort Sample of the Oldest-Old. Results of the AgeCoDe/AgeQualiDe Study

“…The experience of loss and bereavement are frequent negative life events in later life and may pose a significant risk for mental health in old age (12). It has been suggested that bereavement may increase worrying and that worry could hinder the adjustment after bereavement (13). Similarly, psychiatric morbidity including anxiety disorders has been found to be considerably elevated in bereaved spouses in general (14–18).…”

Sources of stress and worry in the development of stress-related mental health problems: A longitudinal investigation from early- to mid-adolescence

“…This suggests that worry might be an important mechanism driving the relationship between stress and the development of stress-related mental health problems. Indeed worry has empirically been linked to prolonged and intensified anxiety and depression, stress-related physiology and stress-symptoms (Eisma, Boelen, Schut, & Stroebe, 2017;Ottaviani et al, 2016;Roussis & Wells, 2008;Watkins, 2008). Considering that worry seems to play a role in the maintenance of several of the emotional disorders it is suggested to be a transdiagnostic factor (Harvey, Watkins, Mansell, & Shafran, 2004;McEvoy, Watson, Watkins, & Nathan, 2013;Watkins, 2008).…”

Emotion regulation processes as mediators of the impact of past life events on older adults’ psychological distress

“…These results have been confirmed in older adults, with various studies linking negative associations to emotional health (Segerstrom et al, 2015). A fixation on past negative life events strongly correlates to depressive symptomology (Connolly and Alloy, 2018;Eisma et al, 2017;Michl et al, 2013;Ruscio et al, 2015). Individuals who ruminate more frequently over past life events report feeling higher levels of distress (Vanderhasselt et al, 2016); and, prolonged rumination is a predictor of future depressive episodes (Stange et al, 2016).…”