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An Assessment of Grief and Psychological Distress among Jamaicans

Johnson, Jodi-Ann LU (2019) PSYP01 20191
Department of Psychology
Abstract
Studies of grief have linked the experience of loss to multiple emotional, cognitive and physiological impairments but its behaviour across different cultures is insufficiently investigated. In this study, symptoms of grief and their relationship to negative psychological outcome among bereaved Jamaicans were assessed. A sample of (N=58) participants completed measures of grief and psychological distress in an online questionnaire. Findings showed that grief was strongly related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety. The cognitive response, “threatening interpretations of grief,” was also related to higher levels of distressing grief behaviour. The primary symptoms of grief identified were disbelief (difficulty... (More)
Studies of grief have linked the experience of loss to multiple emotional, cognitive and physiological impairments but its behaviour across different cultures is insufficiently investigated. In this study, symptoms of grief and their relationship to negative psychological outcome among bereaved Jamaicans were assessed. A sample of (N=58) participants completed measures of grief and psychological distress in an online questionnaire. Findings showed that grief was strongly related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety. The cognitive response, “threatening interpretations of grief,” was also related to higher levels of distressing grief behaviour. The primary symptoms of grief identified were disbelief (difficulty accepting the loss) and longing and yearning for the deceased. There was no evidence of a diagnosable case of complicated grief (CG). Overall these findings indicate that for some bereaved Jamaican adults, the loss of a significant attachment figure negatively impacts mental health, and the expression of such a loss parallels existing models of grieving. (Less)
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author
Johnson, Jodi-Ann LU
supervisor
organization
course
PSYP01 20191
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
grief, loss, depression, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, cognitive, distressing, mental health, culture
language
English
id
8988526
date added to LUP
2019-06-27 13:24:58
date last changed
2022-04-08 15:23:54
@misc{8988526,
  abstract     = {{Studies of grief have linked the experience of loss to multiple emotional, cognitive and physiological impairments but its behaviour across different cultures is insufficiently investigated. In this study, symptoms of grief and their relationship to negative psychological outcome among bereaved Jamaicans were assessed. A sample of (N=58) participants completed measures of grief and psychological distress in an online questionnaire. Findings showed that grief was strongly related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety. The cognitive response, “threatening interpretations of grief,” was also related to higher levels of distressing grief behaviour. The primary symptoms of grief identified were disbelief (difficulty accepting the loss) and longing and yearning for the deceased. There was no evidence of a diagnosable case of complicated grief (CG). Overall these findings indicate that for some bereaved Jamaican adults, the loss of a significant attachment figure negatively impacts mental health, and the expression of such a loss parallels existing models of grieving.}},
  author       = {{Johnson, Jodi-Ann}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{An Assessment of Grief and Psychological Distress among Jamaicans}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}