Public stigma towards prolonged grief disorder: Does diagnostic labeling matter?

Gonschor, Judith; Eisma, Maarten C.; Barke, Antonia; Doering, Bettina K.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0237021

Cited by 18 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(123 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, we did not find a significant effect of the diagnostic status on the attributions of sensitivity and dependency. This seems partly due to the limited power of the present study, given that the effects on dependency were small to moderate, and past studies that did show these effects had larger samples (Eisma, 2018;Eisma et al, 2019;Gonschor et al, 2020). Therefore, we conclude that the findings were generally consistent with prior experiments in European samples.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Public Stigma of Prolonged Grief Disorder

2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Prolonged grief disorder's (PGD's) recent recognition as a psychiatric diagnosis has elicited concerns about stigmatization. Although prior research demonstrated that PGD elicits public stigma, moderators of this effect are unclear, and the effect requires replication in an English-speaking population. Therefore, we investigated the effects of PGD, sex of the bereaved, and death expectedness on public stigma toward bereaved persons. We randomly assigned 195 Australian adults (77% female; mean age, 35.7 years) to read one of eight vignettes describing a bereaved male or female subject, with or without PGD, after an expected or unexpected death. Participants reported their emotional reactions and negative attributions toward, and desired social distance from, the bereaved person. A person with PGD (vs. without) elicited stronger emotional reactions, negative attributions, and desired social distance. No robust moderator effects emerged. Results validate concerns that PGD causes stigma. Stigmatization may be targeted by information campaigns or psychological treatment.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Public Stigma of Prolonged Grief Disorder

2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A standardized vignette described a person with PGD symptoms according to ICD-11 and was presented at the beginning of the interview and the online survey. The vignette was adapted from a vignette of PGD symptoms presented in a study with a German sample without migration background ( 42 ). Assault was chosen as the cause of death because many refugees have experienced traumatic loss ( 23 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beliefs About Causes and Cures of Prolonged Grief Disorder Among Arab and Sub-Saharan African Refugees

Lechner-Meichsner

Comteße

2022

Front. Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundMany refugees have experienced the death of a loved one under traumatic circumstances. Accordingly, the prevalence of Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) among refugees is high. Culture-specific symptoms of PGD have been described previously, but beliefs about causes and cures of PGD among refugees remain unknown. We therefore aimed at identifying illness beliefs and treatment expectations regarding PGD among refugees.MethodWe focused on refugees from Arab countries (n = 14) and from Sub-Sahara Africa (n = 9) and applied qualitative and quantitative methods. In a semi-structured interview, participants first answered questions about assumed causes and potential cures for prototypical PGD symptoms according to ICD-11 that were presented in a vignette as representatives of their own culture. In the quantitative part, they completed the Cause Subscale of the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) that included additional culture-specific items. Interviews were analyzed with Qualitative Content Analysis.ResultsIn both groups of refugees, PGD symptoms were predominantly attributed to a close relationship to the deceased, lack of social support, personal vulnerabilities, and circumstances of the death. Participants also named a number of flight-related causes (e.g., inability to perform or participate in rituals, feeling isolated in the host country). None of the participants attributed PGD symptoms to supernatural causes. Descriptive analyses of responses on the IPQ-R indicated that participants predominantly attributed PGD symptoms to psychological causes. Participants believed that PGD can be cured and predominantly mentioned social and religious support. Psychological help was only mentioned by a minority of participants. In both groups, participants emphasized that a therapist must be familiar with the patient's culture and rituals. Participants also mentioned stigma associated with seeking psychological help.ConclusionResults suggest specific beliefs of refugees regarding causes and cures of PGD as well as similarities with Western conceptualizations. A culture-sensitive approach to the treatment of PGD in refugees that can include knowledge of culture-specific rituals and incorporating religious beliefs as well as decreasing stigma and increasing mental health literacy seem important. The study is limited by its focus on only two groups of refugees and its small sample size.

show abstract

“…Research suggests that the new diagnosis of prolonged grief disorder can lead to greater stigmatization. In one study, participants reported increased anger and anxiety, and desired greater social distance when this diagnosis was mentioned ( 39 ). One thing grieving adolescents do not need at this time is increased social distance.…”

Section: The Context Of Grief Pre-covidmentioning

confidence: 99%

It's Complicated—Adolescent Grief in the Time of Covid-19

Weinstock¹,

Dunda²,

Harrington³

et al. 2021

Front. Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Presently, there is a real possibility of a second pandemic occurring: a grief pandemic. There are estimated to be over 1 million children and young people experiencing bereavement because of Covid-19. Adolescent grief is unique due to bio-psycho-social factors such as increased risk-taking, identity-formation, and limited capacity for emotional regulation. In this article, we will argue that adolescents are at increased risk of developing complicated grief during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that it is vital that services are improved to recognize and address this need before secondary problems emerge, including anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. Complicated grief in adolescents is widely underrecognized and often misdiagnosed as a range of mental health problems, addictions, and offending behavior. For example, 25% of <20 year olds who commit suicide have experienced childhood bereavement, whilst 41% of youth offenders have experienced childhood bereavement; this is in comparison with only 4% of the general population. Many of the broader risk factors for complicated grief were already increasing prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, including increased loneliness amongst young people, and the collapse of collective structures to help people manage grief. We propose that this pandemic could be a catalyst for mental health professionals to support and nurture the caring communities emerging in this time as an essential resource to prevent the onset of a grief pandemic.

show abstract

Public stigma towards prolonged grief disorder: Does diagnostic labeling matter?

Cited by 18 publications

References 53 publications

Public Stigma of Prolonged Grief Disorder

Public Stigma of Prolonged Grief Disorder

Beliefs About Causes and Cures of Prolonged Grief Disorder Among Arab and Sub-Saharan African Refugees

It's Complicated—Adolescent Grief in the Time of Covid-19

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About