Citation

Michel CA, Galfalvy HC, Mann JJ, Schneck N. J. Affect. Disord. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jad.2023.02.009

PMID

36750161

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Individuals who have lost a loved one to suicide are at increased risk for developing complicated grief (CG). It is unclear why only a subgroup of bereaved develops pathological forms of grief. Vulnerability may be related to the ability to regulate attention toward reminders of the deceased during the acute phase of grief. Using a longitudinal design, we determined whether loss-related attentional bias during acute grief predicts grief severity one year later.

METHODS: Thirty-seven participants grieving a first-degree relative or partner to suicide in the prior 6 months performed an emotional Stroop task using words related to the deceased, a living attachment figure, living non-attachment figure, and color congruent Stroop to quantify related attentional bias during the acute grief period. Clinical interviews were conducted at baseline (N = 37) and one year later (N = 35).

RESULTS: Participants showed greater attentional bias to deceased-related word trials compared with living attachment, non-attachment, and congruent trials, controlling for age, time since loss, depression, and psychiatric medication. A greater reduction in grief severity over time was associated with more deceased-related attentional bias at baseline. Self-reported grief avoidance was related to deceased-related attentional bias, with lower avoidance scores associated with greater bias. LIMITATIONS: Lack of non-suicide grief control and small sample size.

CONCLUSIONS: Less deceased-related bias following the loss may hinder the transition from acute to integrated grief and result in poorer grief trajectories.

Language: en

Keywords

Attentional bias; Complicated grief; Grieving; Prolonged grief disorder; Suicide bereaved