Survivors of trauma struggle to move on from the loss of loved ones
Treating post-traumatic stress symptoms early could prevent persistent
grief later, study finds

Date:
August 16, 2021
Source:
American Psychological Association
Summary:
Among individuals who survive a trauma that resulted in the loss
of a close friend or loved one, symptoms of post-traumatic stress
disorder can predict complicated grief -- a sense of persistent
sadness and an inability to cope -- years after the trauma,
according to new research.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Among individuals who survive a trauma that resulted in the loss of a
close friend or loved one, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
can predict complicated grief -- a sense of persistent sadness and an
inability to cope - - years after the trauma, according to research
published by the American Psychological Association.


========================================================================== "Grief is a normal response to the loss of someone close, but traumatic
losses may severely harm survivors for years," said Kristin Alve Glad,
PhD, a researcher at the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic
Stress Studies and lead author of the study. "Our findings suggest
that when treating trauma survivors, targeting symptoms of PTSD early
might help them avoid complicated grief later on." For most people who experience grief, feelings of distress and bereavement tend to diminish
over time, according to Glad. In the case of complicated grief, instead
of fading, symptoms can often linger or worsen and can impair or prevent
people from living their normal lives.

"Complicated grief has been defined as a persistent, intense yearning,
longing and sadness, usually accompanied by insistent thoughts or images
of the deceased and a sense of disbelief or an inability to accept the
painful reality of the person's death," said Glad.

In the study, published in the journal Psychological Trauma: Theory,
Research, Practice and Policy, researchers interviewed survivors of a
2011 domestic terrorist attack on Uto/ya, an island in Norway, who lost
someone close to them in the attack. Of the 275 participants, 256 lost
a close friend, six lost a family member and 13 lost a close friend and
a family member/partner.

Participants took part in individual, face-to-face interviews with
experienced health care personnel three times following the attack on
Uto/ya: 4-5 months, 14-15 months and 30-32 months after the attack. The interviews included questions about the post-traumatic stress symptoms
and complicated grief reactions (e.g., trouble accepting the death of
their loved one, interference of grief in their daily life, troubling
thoughts relating to death, avoidance of reminders of the loss and
feelings of isolation or distance from others).

Researchers found that participants who reported symptoms of PTSD were significantly more likely to report symptoms of complicated grief as
well. They also found that participants who experienced early symptoms
of PTSD a year after the attack experienced even greater symptoms of complicated grief years later.

"The fact that we found that PTSD symptoms predicted complicated grief reactions at a subsequent time point, but complicated grief did not
predict the development of PTSD, is interesting, because it suggests
that targeting PTSD symptoms may hinder later development of complicated grief," said Glad. "This may have important implications for clinicians
working with bereaved trauma survivors." The researchers believe that
the effects of the terrorist attack on the survivors were particularly
severe because they did not just lose a loved one - - they were directly exposed to the attack as well. This dual burden of the unexpected loss
and the survivors' high exposure to trauma may result in a different
trajectory of PTSD symptoms and complicated grief than for bereaved who
are not directly exposed to the trauma.

These findings could apply to anyone who has lost a loved one in a
potentially traumatizing way, according to Glad. Knowledge about the relationship between symptoms of PTSD and complicated grief over time may
help clinicians develop more effective treatment strategies and formulate better treatment plans for the survivors who struggle the most to cope,
the researchers said.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
American_Psychological_Association. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Kristin A. Glad, Synne Stensland, Nikolai O. Czajkowski, Paul
A. Boelen
and Grete Dyb. The Longitudinal Association Between Symptoms of
Posttraumatic Stress and Complicated Grief. A Random Intercepts
Cross-Lag Analysis. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research,
Practice and Policy, 2021 DOI: 10.1037/tra0001087 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210816091546.htm

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