Do Shattered Worldviews Lead to Complicated Grief? Prospective and Longitudinal Analyses

Abstract

Theories of complicated grief (CG) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) posit a central etiological and maintaining role for global beliefs about the world (Janoff-Bulman, 1992). In two studies using separate bereaved samples, we examined these theoretical postulates. Study 1 included prospective data on bereaved spouses and nonbereaved controls at baseline and 6-months post-loss. High pre-loss justice beliefs and acceptance of death prospectively predicted lower depression in bereaved but not control participants, providing evidence for buffering effects. Study 2 used longitudinal data on bereaved spouses and parents (4- and 18-months post-loss), and matched nonbereaved controls. In comparisons to matched controls, bereaved persons showed more benevolent but less meaningful worldviews, and violent or sudden loss was not associated with negative worldviews. In contrast to theoretical proposals, early benevolence, and meaningfulness beliefs showed no longitudinal relation to later PTSD, grief, and depression symptoms. By contrast, early PTSD, grief, and depression predicted later levels of benevolence. Findings support that pre-loss worldviews can buffer the impact of loss, that post-loss worldviews have minimal effects on subsequent adjustment, and that grief symptoms can compromise subsequent worldviews.