The Masking of Mourning: Social Disconnection After Bereavement and Its Role in Psychological Distress.

ABSTRACT: Social support has been shown to facilitate adaptation after bereavement in some studies but not others. A felt sense of social disconnection may act as a barrier to the utilization of social support, perhaps explaining these discrepancies. Factorial and psychometric validity of the Oxford Grief-Social Disconnection Scale (OG-SD) was tested in a bereaved sample (N = 676). A three-factor solution (negative interpretation of others' reactions to grief expression, altered social self, and safety in solitude) fit the data best and demonstrated excellent psychometric validity. A second three-wave longitudinal sample (N = 275) recruited 0 to 6 months following loss and followed up 6 and 12 months later completed measures of prolonged grief disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, d

SUBMITTER: Smith KV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7252572 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature