Persistent and dysfunctional grief reactions
(2013)
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- Authors
- Supervisors
- Zech, Emmanuelle
- Abstract
- (en) The current thesis provides evidence concerning the maladaptive cognitive processes associated with severe grief symptoms. In a first study, negative appraisal of the loss- and the restoration-oriented stressors was found related to more severe grief symptoms. In addition, disequilibrium in the oscillation process (i.e., higher focus on loss-oriented strategies) was shown to be associated with higher levels of grief. Assiduous negative preoccupations with loss-related topics regardless of other types of daily life demands may thus contribute to the maintenance of severe grief reactions. In a second and a third study, mental rumination and intrusions were shown to be characterized by deficits in cognitive inhibition. The tendency to experience elevated level of mental rumination was characterized by fewer abilities to control the access of grief-related information. Furthermore, the tendency to experience frequent and distressful intrusions of grief was characterized by difficulties in the suppression of grief-related, negative, and positive representations. While first depicted as being distinct cognitive processes (in terms of mechanisms of action – namely avoidant or confrontational – and underlying cognitive processes), both kinds of maladaptive repetitive thought are proposed to be part of a single sequential process which may contribute to the development and the maintenance of prolonged grief reactions. As described, the later sequential process provides a stimulating framework that should be further validated in future research.
- Affiliations
Citations
Delespaux, E. (2013). Persistent and dysfunctional grief reactions. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/163619