Scott & White Grief Study: An Empirical Test of Predictors of Intensified Mourning

Phase 1 of the Scott & White Grief Study was a retrospective investigation of seven high-risk factors of intensified mourning treated as predictor variables in a regression analysis of the Grief Experience Inventory scores of 74 mourners. Three factors, age of decedent (younger), relationship quality (conflictual, ambivalent, or overly dependent), and mourner liability (history of mental health problems), were associated with greater grief misery. In addition to these positive findings, the authors discuss possible reasons why the other proposed factors were not predictive of grief affect scores in this sample.