The authors explored the multidimensional aspects of early grief
reactions in 201 relatives and close friends of victims of accidental
deaths, suicides, homicides, and sudden natural deaths. A principal
components analysis of a grief reaction measure revealed four factors:
depressive symptoms, preservation of the lost object, suicidal ideation,
and decedent-directed anger. The authors suggest that certain features
which have been associated mostly with pathological grief (e.g., difficulty
relinquishing the lost object) may be present in many, if not most, of the
general population during bereavement and that pathology may best be
determined by measuring the frequency and intensity of these features.
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