The Grief and Meaning Reconstruction Inventory (GMRI): Initial Validation of a New Measure

Abstract

Although increasing numbers of grief theorists, researchers, and therapists have begun to focus on the quest for meaning in lives disrupted by loss, no convenient and psychometrically validated measure of meanings made specifically in bereavement has been available to guide their efforts. To construct such a measure, the authors began with a systematic content analysis of sense-making, benefit finding, and identity reconstruction themes gleaned from the narrative responses of a sample of 162 adults who were diverse in their age, ethnicity, relationship to the decedent, cause of death, and severity of their grief response. These were then formulated into a set of 65 candidate items in a Likert scale format representing the level of the respondent's endorsement of the item in the past week. Subsequent administration to a second sample of 300 bereaved respondents permitted factor analysis of this pilot version of the Grief and Meaning Reconstruction Inventory (GMRI), and reduced the items to 29, which loaded on 5 distinct factors, labeled Continuing Bonds, Personal Growth, Sense of Peace, Emptiness and Meaninglessness, and Valuing Life. Both the overall GMRI and its constituent factors showed good internal consistency and strong convergent validity in the form of negative correlations with established measures of bereavement-related negative emotions, symptoms of complicated grief, and more general psychological distress and mental health symptomatology, and positive correlations with grief related personal growth. The authors close by noting several specific research and clinical applications of the measure, which could play a useful role in testing and refining contemporary models of meaning made in the wake of loss.

Prolonged grief symptomatology following violent loss: the mediating role of meaning

“…Consistent with previous research (Gillies et al, 2015) each factor of the GMRI demonstrated a significant, weak to moderately strong correlation with every other GMRI factor and with the total GMRI score. This finding is in line with the conceptualization of each GMRI factor as representative of a distinct theme of meaning made following loss.…”

“…The GMRI (Gillies et al, 2015) is a 29-item, Likert-type (1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree), self-report measure which was developed with a bereaved sample and contains five factors each reflecting a theme of meaning made: Emptiness and Meaninglessness (e.g. ‘I feel empty and lost’), Personal Growth (e.g.…”

“…However, in cases where the meaning making process is hindered, such as following violent loss, the bereft remains in a distressing state of meaninglessness that impedes engagement with on-going life thereby fostering symptoms of PGD (Neimeyer, 2006a). Gillies, Neimeyer, and Milman (2015) carried out a content analysis of bereavement narratives identifying how meaning manifests in written accounts of the grief experience. The meaning themes that emerged were used to develop the Grief and Meaning Reconstruction Inventory (GMRI), which is comprised of five factors.…”

Coping and wellbeing in bereavement: two core outcomes for evaluating bereavement support in palliative care

“…A preliminary 'best fit' analysis of existing validated measures used during the initial outcome mapping process found no tools that completely covered these dimensions but identified some with apparent potential to be combined or adapted to cover the outcomes. Those with 'best fit' included grief specific measures connected with coping, resilience and meaning based frameworks, such as the Inventory for Daily Widowed Life [26], Adult Attitude to Grief Scale [27], Grief and Meaning Reconstruction Inventory [28]. There were also some generic quality of life and wellbeing tools which demonstrated good coverage of the selected quality of life and wellbeing dimensions e.g.…”

Rumination moderates the role of meaning in the development of prolonged grief symptomatology

“…In the former case, the griever's bond with the deceased represents meaning made of the loss whereas in the latter case meaning made manifests as valuing life. Gillies, Neimeyer, and Milman () carried out a thematic analysis of bereavement narratives in an attempt to capture this variety in the content of meaning. The meaning themes that emerged informed the items of the Grief and Meaning Reconstruction Inventory ( GMRI ; e.g., “I value and appreciate life more”; Gillies et al, ).…”