Yearning and Its Measurement in Complicated Grief

ABSTRACT

Persistent intense yearning for the deceased is a core clinical feature of complicated grief (CG) that distinguishes it from other mental disorders that develop following loss. The Yearning in Situations of Loss Scale (YSL) is a recently developed assessment of yearning. To assess the psychometric properties of the YSL in those with CG, we administered the YSL, Inventory of Complicated Grief, and Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology to 303 treatment-seeking bereaved adults with CG. Our results suggest the YSL is a reliable assessment with acceptable convergent and discriminant validity as a measure of yearning in those with CG.

KEYWORDS:

• Assessment
• bereavement
• complicated grief
• longing
• yearning

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Donald J. Robinaugh

Donald J. Robinaugh is a clinical fellow in psychology in the Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry. His research interests are focused on understanding and treating emotional disorders that develop following loss and trauma.

Christine Mauro

Christine Mauro is an associate research scientist in the Department of Biostatistics at Columbia University. Her expertise is in the analysis of clinical trials, psychometrics, and longitudinal data analysis.

Eric Bui

Eric Bui is the associate director for research at the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies and Complicated Grief Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital and is an assistant professor ofpsychiatry at Harvard Medical School. His research interests are focused on the etiology and treatment of anxiety and stress-related conditions.

Lauren Stone

Lauren Stone is a human evolutionary biology major at Harvard College and research assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry. She is researching the neurological bases of chronic stress.

Riva Shah

Riva Shah is a medical student at Rush University and a former clinical research coordinator at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry. Her research interests include bereavement, trauma, anxiety disorders, and addiction.

Yuanjia Wang

Yuanjia Wang is an associate professor of biostatistics at Columbia University, and is an expert in statistical analyses of clinical trial and observational study data.

Natalia A. Skritskaya

Natalia A. Skritskaya is an associate research scientist at Columbia School of Social Work. She also is a licensed clinical psychologist and works primarily with bereaved individuals. Her research interests include complicated grief, empirically supported treatments, and treatment dissemination.

Charles F. Reynolds

Charles F. Reynolds is an endowed professor in geriatric psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and director of the Aging Institute at the University of Pittsburgh. His primary research interests focus on mood, grief, and sleep disorders of later life.

Sidney Zisook

Sidney Zisook is a distinguished professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego. His research interests include bereavement, suicide prevention, and the treatment of major depressive disorders.

Mary-Frances O’Connor

Mary-Frances O’Connor is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona. She studies the impact of grief and loss on psychological and physiological functioning.

Katherine Shear

Katherine Shear is the director of the Center for Complicated Grief at Columbia School of Social Work and is theMarion E. Kenworthy Professor of Psychiatry at the Columbia School of Social Work and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Shear is a leading expert in complicated grief and is the developer of Complicated Grief Therapy.

Naomi M. Simon

Naomi M. Simon is the director of the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital and is also an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Simon’s major clinical and research interests include initial and next-step treatments for anxiety disorders, anxiety comorbid with mood disorders, complicated grief, and the biological impact of chronic stress due to these disorders.