Positive and Negative Life Changes Following Bereavement and their Relations to Adjustment

Abstract

We examined positive and negative life changes reported by bereaved spouses and parents 4-7 years after the sudden loss of a family member (N= 94). Although the bereaved described significantly more positive than negative life changes in response to a series of open-ended interview questions, the number of positive life changes reported was unrelated to reports of psychological symptoms and well-being. Analyses examining the impact of positive life changes within particular domains (e.g., social relations, life orientation) revealed the same null pattern. Those bereaved reporting various positive life changes were no better off than their counterparts who did not mention such changes and, like their 90 LIFE CHANGES 91 bereaved counterparts, were in fact worse off than their non-bereaved matched controls. In contrast, reports of negative life changes were consistently related to psychological symptoms and well-being. Our results raise questions about the significance of reports of positive life changes following victimization. Statements of personal growth may not be reliable indicators of adjustment. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.The past 20 years have witnessed a dramatic increase in research on reactions to stressful life events (see Kessler, Price, & Wortman, 1985, for a review). Investigators have examined the effects of many different events including illness, sexual assault, and bereavement. These studies, employing a wide range of standard functioning measures, have typically focused on documenting the psychological and physical sequelae of the event, usually within one to two years of its occurrence.Researchers have recently begun to broaden the scope of inquiry by focusing on additional implications and consequences of major life events. Within this framework, a new research tradition has emerged which considers whether stressful life experiences prompt any endur ing personal changes. Some investigators have attempted to identify those aspects of a person's life that change following a stressful event

Posttraumatic Growth in Treatment-seeking Female Assault Victims

“…However, other studies have yielded mixed support for this relationship [7,13,27,28], while a third group of studies have failed to find a significant relationship between measures of adjustment and growth [15,17,29,30]. Clearly, additional efforts are needed to clarify the relationship between growth outcomes and measures of adjustment.…”

“…That is, most of the existing literature has relied on qualitative assessments of perceived benefits such as anecdotal reports during interviews (e.g., [19]), or general or brief questions about perceived benefits (e.g., [14,17,31]). To date, there are fewer studies examining the relationship between growth outcomes and symptom severity using more formal growth instruments, such as the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), that can generalize across samples [15,[32][33][34].…”

“…To date, there are fewer studies examining the relationship between growth outcomes and symptom severity using more formal growth instruments, such as the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), that can generalize across samples [15,[32][33][34]. Furthermore, a number of studies have used events that do not necessarily meet DSM-IV [1] diagnostic criteria for a traumatic stressor (e.g., [14,15,17,18,21,29]). This is an important conceptual distinction because medical stressors or bereavement may be qualitatively different than the experience of a traumatic stressor such as a sexual or physical assault.…”

“…These categories broadly include, but are not limited to, perceived changes in the self such as greater self-efficacy and self-reliance, changed relationships with others, increased spirituality or changes in life philosophy, heightened awareness of new possibilities, and a greater appreciation of life. Consistent with these categories, researchers have documented increased feelings of self-efficacy among bereaved elderly women [19]; greater self-trust and self-worth among rape survivors [7,13]; strengthened relationships with family members and a better perspective on life among parents of at-risk infants [20], a perception of being better able to handle future problems among cancer patients [14]; and an increased appreciation for life and increased religiosity among bereaved spouses and parents [17].…”

“…In support of this view, researchers examining a wide range of stressors have documented an inverse relationship between a number of growth domains and measures of adjustment [11,14,18,[21][22][23][24][25][26]. However, other studies have yielded mixed support for this relationship [7,13,27,28], while a third group of studies have failed to find a significant relationship between measures of adjustment and growth [15,17,29,30]. Clearly, additional efforts are needed to clarify the relationship between growth outcomes and measures of adjustment.…”