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Abstract
The authors performed a qualitative analysis of revisiting exercise narratives provided by 22 bereaved individuals undergoing complicated grief (CG) treatment. Revisiting entails telling the story of the death. Most participants described social interactions in the narratives, viewing others as helpful (n = 7), unhelpful (n = 7), or both (n = 6). Many noted the presence of helpful individuals, yet perceived helpfulness was not sufficient to protect against developing CG, and helpfulness was not associated with lower depressive, grief, or trauma symptoms. However, the absence, rudeness, or aggression of others distressed and angered grieving participants. Implications for the role of social support in CG are discussed.
This article is based on Stephanie Wilsey's doctoral dissertation at the University of Pittsburgh. We thank Nancy Elman, Lou Pingel, and Maureen Porter for their invaluable insights on this project, as well as Maria Wrzosek for her excellent work as a coder.
Notes
Note. Social support themes were coded for every instance of participants describing other individuals and expressing whether or not such individuals supported them or failed to support them.
Note. Total Units refers to the total number of text units in all 22 documents pertaining to this theme. One text unit = one sentence.
a Good Support and Lack of Support categories included all text coded under respective subthemes (e.g., Being There) as well as general references to good or bad support that were not also coded under the subthemes.
Note. Sixteen weeks (the last treatment session) was the final administration of the BDI.