Assumptive Worldviews and Problematic Reactions to Bereavement

Abstract

Forty-two individuals who had lost an immediate family member in the prior 2 years and 42 nonbereaved matched controls completed the World Assumptions Scale (Janoff-Bulman, 1989) and the Symptom Checklist-10-Revised (Rosen et al., 2000). Results showed that bereaved individuals were significantly more distressed than nonbereaved matched controls, and those grievers with weaker beliefs in the meaningfulness of the world and lower perceptions of self-worth had greater distress symptoms than those who perceived the world and themselves in more positive terms. Assumptive worldviews were not related to differences in psychological distress in the control group. The present findings suggest that problematic reactions to bereavement may reflect the influence of negative belief systems, which do not seem to have the same detrimental impact for individuals not dealing with a significant interpersonal loss.