Personal growth in bereaved students: Associations with support, grief, and distress

Tureluren, Emilie; Claes, Laurence; Andriessen, Karl

doi:10.1080/07481187.2022.2063457

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 51 publications

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“…Social support is an important source of help for bereaved students [8]. It facilitates selfdisclosure, sharing, and processing negative emotions, which enables meaning making and personal growth [32][33][34]. However, many bereaved students are located at a geographical distance from their natural social support network [3,35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between Grief and Somatic Complaints in Bereaved University and College Students

Sillis

Claes

Andriessen

2022

IJERPH

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Many emerging adults experience the death of a loved one while they are enrolled as a student in higher education. Bereavement increases the risk of long-term adverse physical and mental health outcomes. Still, as most studies have focused on psychological aspects of grief, little is known about the impact of grief on somatic complaints in students, leaving them vulnerable to health deteriorations. This study aimed to address this gap, and we hypothesized that there is a positive association between grief and somatic complaints in bereaved students. Participants (N = 688) were students enrolled at Flemish universities and colleges in Belgium. Participants filled out an online survey with sociodemographic questions, two scales assessing grief, and somatic grief reactions, and two additional questions inquiring whether participants had experienced other somatic reactions, and whether they had taken any steps to remedy their somatic complaints. Regression analyses revealed that less social support, type of relationship (first-degree relative), and the level of grief were positively associated with somatic complaints, and bereaved students reported various complaints such as feeling pain and strains, thus confirming the hypothesis. As bereaved students may be reluctant to seek support for somatic complaints, the findings indicate that information and psychoeducation for bereaved students and their social environment must address somatic grief reactions and encourage timely help seeking. In addition, staff members at psychosocial and medical services for students should be trained to recognize somatic as well as psychological grief reactions. Appropriately skilled, they can inquire about such complaints and provide adequate support to prevent long-term health ramifications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between Grief and Somatic Complaints in Bereaved University and College Students

Sillis

Claes

Andriessen

2022

IJERPH

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Undergraduate nursing student perceptions of the unexpected death of a classmate: A qualitative study

Thompson,

Minor,

Gerlach

2024

Death Studies

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Exploring posttraumatic growth in individuals bereaved by suicide: A secondary data analysis of a national survey

Creegan,

O’Connell,

Griffin

et al. 2024

Death Studies

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Personal growth in bereaved students: Associations with support, grief, and distress

Abstract: We are most grateful to the participants and to the numerous organizations and individuals who helped with recruitment.

Cited by 4 publications

References 51 publications

Association between Grief and Somatic Complaints in Bereaved University and College Students

Association between Grief and Somatic Complaints in Bereaved University and College Students

Undergraduate nursing student perceptions of the unexpected death of a classmate: A qualitative study

Exploring posttraumatic growth in individuals bereaved by suicide: A secondary data analysis of a national survey

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