Counterfactual thinking and psychological distress following recurrent miscarriage

Abstract

Developing an understanding of the cognitive factors mediating the emotional response to recurrent miscarriage may help explain how women process and adjust to such an experience. Counterfactual thinking is a cognitive response in which individuals simulate an alternative outcome to an event, and has been found to be related to both positive and negative outcomes following trauma. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between counterfactual thinking, distress, future plans and search for meaning following recurrent miscarriage. Sixty‐two women attending the Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic completed measures of anxiety, depression and thought listing tasks. Findings indicated a positive association between upward counterfactual thoughts and anxiety. Contrary to predictions, there was no relationship between counterfactual thinking and positive outcomes. Future plans were not related to lower distress, but there was some evidence that search for meaning was inversely related to distress. Clinical implications and proposals for future research are discussed.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the women who took part in the study for their willingness to share their thoughts and feelings about their experience, and all the staff at the Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic, St. Mary's Hospital London, for their help with the research.