The centrality of a loss and its role in emotional problems among bereaved people

Boelen, Paul A.

doi:10.1016/j.brat.2009.03.009

Cited by 75Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthPosttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchDeath, Funerary Practices, and Mourning

The centrality of a loss and its role in emotional problems among bereaved people

Boelen, Paul A.·2009·Behaviour Research and Therapy

DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2009.03.009

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Abstract

In literature on posttraumatic stress-disorder (PTSD) there is growing interest in the concept "centrality of event", referring to the degree to which the memory of a traumatic event is central to one's everyday inferences, life-story, and identity. Using self-reported data from 254 bereaved individuals, this study examined the centrality of the loss-event in emotional problems following loss. Findings showed that this centrality (a) varied as a function of kinship to the deceased but not other loss-related variables, (b) was correlated with complicated grief (CG), depression, PTSD, and with neuroticism and several cognitive-behavioural variables, and (c) remained correlated with CG but not depression and PTSD when controlling for the shared variance between these symptoms, neuroticism, and these cognitive-behavioural variables.

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Multiple types of loss-related avoidance assessed with one generic measure show large positive concurrent and longitudinal associations with complicated grief symptoms.
“Other investigations, assessing multiple types of lossrelated avoidance (mostly experiential) with one generic measure and CG symptoms, demonstrated large positive associations between these constructs concurrently and longitudinally (Boelen, 2009; Boelen, 2010a; Boelen & Klugkist, 2011; Boelen, van den Bout, & van den Hout, 2006).”
From Emotion Regulatory Strategies in Complicated Grief: A Systematic Review (2021) · cites this paper as Boelen, 2009

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“However, when highly negative events become fixed reference points for such meaning making processes, this may bring about rigidity in negative self-assumptions (Berntsen & Rubin, 2006b; Berntsen, Willert, & Rubin, 2003), making it difficult for individuals experiencing psychopathology to update and revise negative vi…”
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Self-citation

Authors: Boelen, P. A.
Affiliations: Utrecht University (NL)
Corresponding author: Boelen, Paul A.
ORCID: Boelen, Paul A.
Venue: Behaviour Research and Therapy
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2009-07
Volume: 47
Issue: 7
Pages: 616-622
ISSN: 0005-7967 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2009.03.009
OpenAlex: W2062562658
Cited by: 75
References: 28
Citations by year: 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 4
FWCI: 7.43
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations: Behaviour Research and Therapy (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
Keywords: loss, bereavement, complicated grief, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, neuroticism, kinship
MeSH terms: Adult, Affective Symptoms, Bereavement, Depression, Female, Grief, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Personality, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Mental Recall, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

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The centrality of a loss and its role in emotional problems among bereaved people

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