The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of three versions of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; American Sociological Association) in adults who had survived the death of a family member or significant other by suicide. Reliability and validity were examined. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to assess dimensionality of the underlying constructs. All three versions of the PSS demonstrated acceptable reliability. Two shorter versions retained good psychometric properties and demonstrated convergent and concurrent validity with measures of posttraumatic stress symptoms and mental health quality of life. Factor analysis provided further evidence of their usefulness as brief and valid measures of perceived stress in acutely bereaved adult survivors of suicide. In a sub-sample of closely related survivors, the psychometric properties of the 4-item version of the PSS were retained.

Objectives: To describe doctors' emotional reactions to the recent death of an "average" patient and to explore the effects of level of training on doctors' reactions.

S This study describes changes in literacy engagement during 1 year of Concept‐Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI), a new approach to teaching reading, writing, and science. Literacy engagement was defined as the integration of intrinsic motivations, cognitive strategies, and conceptual learning from text. To promote literacy engagement in classrooms, our team designed and implemented CORI in two third‐ and two fifth‐grade classrooms in two schools. One hundred and forty students participated in an integrated reading/ language arts‐science program, which emphasized real‐world science observations, student self‐direction, strategy instruction, collaborative learning, self‐expression, and coherence of literacy learning experiences. Trade books replaced basals and science textbooks. According to 1‐week performance assessments in the fall and spring, students gained in the following higher order strategies: searching multiple texts, representing knowledge, transferring concepts, comprehending informational text, and interpreting narrative. Children's intrinsic motivations for literacy correlated with cognitive strategies at .8 for Grade 5 and .7 for Grade 3. All students who increased in intrinsic motivation also increased in their use of higher order strategies. A sizeable proportion (50%) of students who were stable or decreased in intrinsic motivation failed to progress in higher order strategies. These findings were discussed in terms of a conceptual framework that embraces motivational, strategic, and conceptual aspects of literacy engagement. Este estudio describe cambios en el compromiso con la lectoescritura durante un año de enseñanza de la lectura orientada hacia los conceptos (CORI), un nuevo abordaje de la didáctica de la lectura, la escritura y la ciencia. El compromiso con la lectoescritura se definió como la integración de motivaciones intrínsecas, estrategias cognitivas y aprendizaje conceptual de los textos. Para promover el compromiso con la lectoescritura en las aulas, nuestro equipo diseñó e implementó CORI en dos clases de tercer grado y dos de quinto en dos escuelas. Ciento cuarenta estudiantes participaron en un programa integrado de lectura, lenguaje y ciencia, que ponía el acento en observaciones científicas en el mundo real, estudio autodirigido, enseñanza de estrategias, aprendizaje en colaboración, autoexpresión y coherencia de las experiencias de aprendizaje de la lectoescritura. Libros de circulación general reemplazaron a los textos básicos (basals) y a los libros de texto sobre ciencias. Sobre la base de evaluaciones del desempeño durante una semana tomadas en otoño y primavera, los estudiantes hicieron avances en las siguientes estrategias de orden superior: búsqueda de textos múltiples, representación del conocimiento, transferencia de conceptos, comprensión de texto informativo e interpretación de narrativas. Las motivaciones intrínsecas de los niños hacia la lectoescritura correlacionaron con las estrategias cognitivas en .8 para 5o grado y .7 para 3o grado. Todos los estud...

Complicated grief is a newly defined and distinctive psychiatric disorder that occurs in response to a significant loss through death. New findings suggest that survivors who were close to the deceased are at heightened risk for complicated grief. Little is known about whether close kinship (spouses, parents, children, siblings, vs. in-laws, aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews, friends, or coworkers) to a suicide victim also represents a heightened risk for complicated grief. Assessing for complicated grief is important, especially with survivors of suicide, because of the potential for associated health risks. This report contains preliminary data from an exploratory, descriptive pilot study examining complicated grief in adult survivors of suicide. Sixty bereaved subjects, within one month after the suicide of a family member or significant other, were assessed for complicated grief symptoms. Statistically significant differences, as measured with the Inventory of Complicated Grief, were noted between closely related and distantly related survivors of the suicide victim. These preliminary results indicate that health care professional's assessments and interventions for complicated grief should take into consideration the bereaved's familial and/or social relationship to the deceased. The closely related survivors of suicide had higher levels of complicated grief and could be at risk of developing physical and/or mental health problems, including suicidal ideation, in the future.