Suicide Bereavement and Complicated Grief: Experiential Avoidance as a Mediating Mechanism

ABSTRACT

In the wake of increased interest in the specific features of suicide bereavement, the current study examines (a) the association between suicide bereavement and complicated grief and (b) the mediating effect of experiential avoidance on the association between suicide bereavement and complicated grief. The tests revealed a significant indirect effect of suicide bereavement on complicated grief through experiential avoidance. This finding suggests that traumatic characteristics of suicide bereavement may inhibit the grieving process by increasing experiential avoidance and emphasizing a cognitive approach for complicated grief of people who have lost their loved one to death by suicide.

KEYWORDS:

• Bereavement
• complicated grief
• experiential avoidance
• Korean older adults
• suicide bereavement

Notes

These studies can be distinguished from others that examine the effect of suicide bereavement on grief and the question of whether to use specific measures for CG (e.g., the Inventory of Complicated Grief; Prigerson et al., 1995).

The cut-off point for high risk for ICG score is 25, as suggested by the original scale developers (Prigerson et al., 1995).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ilsung Nam

Ilsung Nam is an assistant professor in Hallym University. His primary interests include the biopsychosocial factors that contribute to psychological outcomes among people with complicated grief and related psychological disorders. He is also interested in the development, implementation, and evaluation of psychosocial intervention to improve the care of people with complicated grief and related psychological disorders.