Revised Grief Experience Inventory Research Articles

The Relationship Between Perceived Parental Competence and Bereavement Outcomes in Widows With Young Children.

Adjustment to bereavement, while a normative life experience, is one that impacts every aspect of life. Widows with young children face the unique challenge of managing both their grief and the grief of their child while also redefining roles, responsibilities, and resources. This study used a cross-sectional survey method to explore the relationship between perceived parental competence and bereavement outcomes in widows with young children (n = 232). Participants completed study measures including a demographic survey, the Revised Grief Experience Inventory, and the Parental Sense of Competence Scale. Results indicate that the constructs of competence, parenting self-efficacy and parental satisfaction, were directly correlated to decreased grief experiences. Additionally, grief experiences were found to be higher in widows reporting lower levels of education, those who were not currently in a relationship, and those who had more children to care for. This study highlights the potential that perceived parental competence has to influence the grief experience for widows and their bereaved children.

Grief among Neonatal Intensive Care Nurses.

Nurses working in the high-stress environment of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at high risk of experiencing grief after death of a baby. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design, a convenience sample of nurses working in a Level IV NICU in Northern California, United States completed online surveys. Level of grief among NICU nurses, perceptions of grief support available at their institution, and past and future grief coping methods were assessed. A diverse sample of 55 NICU nurses, mean age 45.5 (SD = 11.7) years. A high-acuity NICU in one large Northern California hospital. Participant demographic data and the Revised Grief Experience Inventory were completed online. Total grief scores ranged between 22 and 82 with a mean of 46.9 (SD = 17.4). Sixty percent (n = 33) moderately/strongly disagreed on adequacy of current grief support services at their institution and 81% (n = 45) reported hospital staff could benefit from additional grief support. Nurses' past grief support included family, friends, and church. Future grief resources would include family, friends, and co-workers. Participants indicated need for debriefing and additional nurse staffing resources at the time of a patient death. Neonatal intensive care unit nurses in our study reported experiencing grief. Debriefing and bereavement support may be helpful for nurses working in high-stress environments where there is a higher likelihood of patient death.

Hope of rural women caregivers of persons with advanced cancer: guilt, self-efficacy and mental health

Caring for a person with advanced disease can have a detrimental impact on the quality of life of family caregivers. This is further compounded in rural areas that have few or no palliative care services. Hope has a positive influence on the quality of life of family caregivers of persons with advanced cancer but factors influencing hope specifically in rural women caregivers of persons with advanced cancer have not been examined. The purpose of this study was to determine factors influencing the hope of rural women caring for persons with advanced cancer, by examining the relationship of hope with demographic variables, self-efficacy, guilt, and caregiver physical and mental health. A cross-sectional prospective correlational design was used. Inclusion criteria for the study were: (a) female, (b) 18 years of age or older, (c) caring for a person diagnosed with advanced cancer, (d) home address with a rural postal code, and (e) English-speaking. Using a modified Dillman technique, surveys and an invitation to participate were mailed to 780 persons with advanced cancer living in rural areas using two western Canadian provincial cancer registries. A reminder card was sent 4 weeks later. The persons with advanced cancer were asked to give the survey to their primary caregiver to complete. Surveys included measures of hope (Herth Hope Index (HHI)), general self-efficacy (General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES)), grief (Non Death Version Revised Grief Experience Inventory (NDRGEI)), mental and physical health (Short Form Health Survey Version 2 (SF-12v2)), and demographic data such as their relationship to the person for whom the caregiver was caring. Data were entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences v19 (SPSS) and analyzed using generalized linear modeling. Significant factors (p ≤ 0.05) influencing HHI scores were GSES ( p ≤ 0.0001), NDRGEI subscale (p=0.001), and SF-12v2 mental health summary scores (p=0.002). Participants with higher GSES, lower NDRGEI, and higher SF-12v2 mental health summary scores had higher HHI scores. The SF-12v2 physical health summary mean score of 43.30 (standard deviation (SD)=4.63) was below the 25th percentile (46.53) of US population norms. The SF-12v2 mental health summary mean score of 45.24 (SD=5.98) was just above the 25th percentile of US population norms (45.13). Participants with higher hope scores had higher mental health scores, lower perceptions of loss and grief scores, and higher scores in their confidence in their ability to deal with difficult situations (self-efficacy). The significant relationships found between hope and mental health, general self-efficacy, and perceptions of guilt provide a foundation for future research and underscore the importance of hope to rural women caregivers. The low physical and mental health scores of rural women caregivers are of concern and highlight the need to support this population.

Pediatric Nurses' Grief Experience, Burnout and Job Satisfaction

Correlations among grief, burnout, and job satisfaction among highly satisfied pediatric nurses were examined using the Revised Grief Experience Inventory (RGEI), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and Index of Work Satisfaction (IWS). Results showed that grief had significant correlations; positive with burnout, negative with job satisfaction. RN's reported significantly higher emotional exhaustion if their primary patients died and higher guilt if patients died younger. Conclusions suggest a dynamic statistical interaction among nurses' grief, burnout, and job satisfaction representing a pathway to intention to leave their unit, organization, or nursing. Recommendations include implementation and evaluation of grief intervention and education programs.

Evaluation of the living with hope program for rural women caregivers of persons with advanced cancer

BackgroundHope has been identified as a key psychosocial resource among family caregivers to manage and deal with the caregiver experience. The Living with Hope Program is a self-administered intervention that consists of watching an international award winning Living with Hope film and participating in a two week hope activity (“Stories of the Present”). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the Living with Hope Program on self-efficacy [General Self-Efficacy Scale], loss and grief [Non-Death Revised Grief Experience Inventory], hope [Herth Hope Index] and quality of life [Short-Form 12 version 2 (SF-12v2)] in rural women caring for persons with advanced cancer and to model potential mechanisms through which changes occurred.MethodsA time-series embedded mixed method design was used, with quantitative baseline outcome measures repeated at day 7, day 14, and 3, 6 and 12 months. Qualitative data from the hope activity informed the quantitative data. Thirty-six participants agreed to participate with 22 completing all data collection. General estimating equations were used to analyze the data.ResultsHerth Hope Index scores (p=0.05) had increased significantly from baseline at day 7. General Self Efficacy Scale scores were significantly higher than baseline at all data time points. To determine the mechanisms of the Living with Hope Program through which changes occurred, results of the data analysis suggested that as General Self Efficacy Scale scores increased (p<0.001) and Non-death Revised Grief Experience Inventory scores decreased (p=0.01) Herth Hope Index scores increased. In addition as Herth Hope Index scores increased (p<0.001) and Non-death Revised Grief Experience Inventory scores decreased (p=0.01), SF-12v2 mental health summary scores increased. Qualitative data suggested that through the hope activity (Stories of the Present) the participants were able to find positives and hope in their experience.ConclusionsThe Living with Hope Program has potential to increase hope and improve quality of life for rural women caregivers of persons with advanced cancer. The possible mechanisms by which changes in hope and quality of life occur are by decreasing loss and grief and increasing self-efficacy.Trial registrationsRegistration ClinicalTrails.gov, NCT01081301.

The HELLP concept — Relatives of deceased donors need the Help Earlier in parallel with Loss of a Loved Person

Adequate communication with donors' relatives in the intensive care unit can crucially increase the number of donations and can influence the relatives' grief reaction and depression. The aim of this quantitative investigation was to explore how communication in the ICU about brain death and consent to donation affected family members' psychological condition. The self-completed questionnaire, which the donors' relatives filled in 3-6 months after donation consisted of demographic data, participants' knowledge, opinions about and attitudes toward donation, communication in the ICU regarding brain death and donation, and 2 psychometric inventories: the Hungarian-translated version of the Revised Grief Experience Inventory and the Hungarian adaptation of the Shortened Version of the Beck Depression Inventory. Before organ recovery, 100% of the 29 participants supported donation, but 24.1% considered donation for transplantation to be unhelpful, and 41.4% doubted that the diagnosis was reliable after donation. Bereavement and depression did not correlate with age, marital status or degree of religiousness. Females had higher "physical distress" and more severe depression. The psychological reaction was lower amongst relatives with higher education. Depressive symptoms occurred in 72.4% of participants. Individuals who did not have confidence in the brain death diagnosis had more intense grief reaction (p=0.020) and more serious depressive symptoms (p=0.002). To decrease the negative psychological impact of donation, relatives need the Help Earlier in parallel with the Loss of Loved Person. The first step of the "HELLP" concept is to establish adequate communication; consequently, the physicians' education about communication is essential.

Depression and Grief—Overlapping Phenomena or Lack of Individuation?

Depression and death-related grief are often treated as the same phenomenon or, in the case of grief, ignored all together. The result of this is that individuals experiencing grief may be treated for depression, if treated at all. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether these two phenomena can be distinguished in persons diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). The Beck Inventory II and the Revised Grief Experience Inventory (RGEI) measured depression and grief respectively. The scores from the four RGEI subscales were correlated with the scores from the three BDI subscales, creating a 4 × 3 matrix. Results suggest that only one of the RGEI subscales (Depression) achieved moderate correlations with two of the BDI subscales, Somatic Elements ( r = .33) and Negative Attitudes ( r = .32). These results provide strong evidence that the RGEI and the BDI produce scores with discriminant validity.

Posttraumatic growth in bereaved parents

The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), Revised Grief Experience Inventory, and World Assumptions Scale were administered to 111 bereaved parents. The PTGI scores indicate that many bereaved parents report personal growth in domains outlined by L.G. Calhoun and R. G. Tedeschi (2001). Grief intensity was inversely correlated with growth scores. Self-worth was a strong predictor of growth scores, whereas assumptions about the benevolence and meaningfulness of the world were not correlated with growth.

Physiological and psychological symptoms of grief in widows

In this cross-sectional descriptive survey of 173 widows, we describe their grief symptoms using an open-ended questionnaire and the Revised Grief Experience Inventory. Self-reported physical symptoms included pain, gastro-intestinal problems, medical/surgical conditions, sleep disturbances, and neurological/circulatory issues. Psychological symptoms were reported as depression, anxiety, and loneliness. The mean total grief score was 71.4 +/- 30.2 (possible range 22-132). Physical symptoms were significantly correlated with the total mean grief score, and subscales of physical distress, depression, existential tension, and guilt. When the subjects were grouped by years since loss, (range 1-5 years), there was no significant decrease found in overall grief scores, suggesting symptoms of grief experienced by widows may continue up to at least 5 years.

Infant end-of-life care: the parents' perspective

The purpose of this study was to identify factors important to parents in their infant's end-of-life care. Participants were parents (n=19 families) whose infant (less than 1 year old) had died. Parents completed the Revised Grief Experience Inventory (RGEI) and a semi-structured interview regarding their infant's end-of-life care. Interviews were rated using the Post-Death Adaptation Scale (PDAS). Parents scored significantly lower than the normative sample on the RGEI, and PDAS scores suggested that these parents were adapting positively. Parent interviews identified the aspects of care that were important to parents: honesty, empowered decision-making, parental care, environment, faith/trust in nursing care, physicians bearing witness and support from other hospital care providers. Results of this study suggest that parents can effectively cope following the death of an infant and the medical staff can do much to improve the end-of-life care for infants and their families.

Examining the Assumptive World Views of Parents Bereaved by Accident, Murder, and Illness

The present study examines the impact of various types of loss on the assumptive world views of bereaved parents. The World Assumptions Scale (WAS) and the Revised Grief Experience Inventory were administered to 135 parents bereaved by homicide ( N = 64), accident ( N = 37), and illness ( N = 34), and to non-bereaved control parents ( N = 30). Bereaved parents held more negative views of the benevolence of the world and reported lower self-worth. No differences were found on the meaningfulness of the world dimension. Parents bereaved by unexpected deaths (homicides and accidents) demonstrated more negative views on benevolence than parents bereaved by expected deaths (illnesses). Parents bereaved by homicide demonstrated the lowest sense of self-worth. Parents bereaved by fatal illness demonstrated the most negative meaningfulness scores. WAS scores were highly predictive of grief intensity; the gender of the deceased child and amount of time elapsed since death were not. Results were compared to earlier findings, and clinical implications are discussed herein.

Assumptive World Views and the Grief Reactions of Parents of Murdered Children

The World Assumptions Scale and the Revised Grief Experience Inventory was administered to parents of murdered children and parents bereaved by sudden accidental death. Compared to parents bereaved by accidents, parents bereaved by homicide showed more negative views of the benevolence of the world, but no difference with regard to meaningfulness of the world or worthiness of the self. For both groups, worthiness of self was less affected by trauma than was either benevolence or meaningfulness of the world. Also, as hypothesized, assumptive world views were found to be predictive of grief intensity, along with gender and time since death. Clinical implications of these findings were discussed.

An Integrative Model of Personality, Coping and Appraisal for the Prediction of Grief Involvement in Adults

This Study Contrasts Two Opposing Conceptualizations Of Personality's Effect Upon Grief: A Traditional Ego Psychology (Risk Factor) View And Lazarus And Folkman's Contextual Coping Model. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, and the Revised Grief Experience Inventory were administered to 101 bereaved adults. Predictor variables included neuroticism, extraversion, threat appraisal, emotion-oriented coping, task/problem-oriented coping, and avoidance coping. Significant predictive effects for emotion oriented coping, task/problem oriented coping, and grief-related variables were found. Results support contextual coping theory, indicating that immediate coping processes may be better predictors of grief involvement than longstanding personality traits. Clinical implications are discussed.

The Relationships Among Grief Experience, Problem-Solving Appraisal, and Depression: An Exploratory Study

Research has consistently shown a relationship between problem-solving appraisal and depressive symptoms. This study expands that research by including grief symptomatology as a variable. A college student sample completed the Problem-Solving inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Revised Grief Experience Inventory. Consistent with hypotheses, those individuals who had experienced the death of a close loved one within the previous 5 years reported significantly higher levels of grief and depression than those who had not experienced such a loss. However, the group that had experienced the death of a close loved one did not report significantly worse problem-solving scores than the group that did not. This study also examined the relationships among problem-solving appraisal, depressive symptoms, and grief symptoms within the subsample that had experienced the loss of a close loved one within the previous 5 years. Consistent with predictions, grief symptoms were associated with depressive symptoms and self-appraised ineffective problem solving. The results of this study extend the research on grief and mourning. Also, the results expand our understanding of the grief process by providing preliminary evidence for the role of problem solving in this process