Psychological Distress and Bereavement

Some 115 bereaved subjects (43 spouses, 39 adult children, and 33 parents) were followed-up prospectively over 12 months following the acute bereavement period. They completed the Zung Depression Scale, Spielberger's State and Trait Anxiety Measure, the GHQ-28, and Eysenck's Personality Inventory at four time points. With the exception of EPI-Extroversion, there was a significant decrease in all scores over the period encompassing the study. There were no differences between the three groups on any of the psychological variables measured. Scores on the Zung Depression Scale, state and trait anxiety, and neuroticism correlated significantly with a measure of core bereavement phenomenology, the Core Bereavement Items, at each time point for each group.