Active grief, despair and difficulty coping: Some measured characteristics of male response following their partner's miscarriage
Abstract
There has been relatively little published research on the effects upon men of their partner's miscarriage. Some interim findings from the first large study in the UK are indicated. Male partners (n = 323) of women who miscarried were administered the Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS), scoring on overall grief not dissimilarly to female cohorts who had miscarried. Analysis of the PGS scores suggests characteristic differences in the way grief is handled by males and females, with males displaying less immediate ‘active grief’, but being more vulnerable to feelings of ‘despair’ and ‘difficulty in coping’. The duration of the pregnancy prior to miscarriage and the experience of seeing an ultrasound scan appear to be factors in raised levels of grief in these men.
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Men utilised varying coping strategies, including focusing on work as a distraction, after pregnancy loss.
“utilised varying coping strategies, including focusing on work as a distraction [23–25, 33–36].”
From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [35]
Men were typically hesitant to disclose their feelings after pregnancy loss.
“men were typically hesitant to disclose their feelings”
From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [35]
Men had elevated results on avoidance scales after pregnancy loss.
“had elevated results on avoidance scales”
From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [35]
Men had difficulty accessing support after pregnancy loss.
“had difficulty accessing support”
From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [35]
Relatively few quantitative or qualitative studies recruited only fathers, or aimed specifically to explore men's experiences of loss.
“Relatively few quantitative [18, 25, 27, 32, 33, 35] or qualitative studies [10, 42–45, 47] recruited only fathers, or aimed specifically to explore men’s experiences of loss.”
From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [35]
There is currently limited evidence to suggest that grief following pregnancy loss is affected by gestational age.
“Despite this variability, there is currently limited evidence to suggest that grief following pregnancy loss is affected by gestational age [3, 21–25].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [25]
Thirteen included studies used the Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS) as a primary measure of grief.
“Although 13 studies used the Perinatal Grief Scale (PGS) as a primary measure of grief”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [25]
Ten included studies did not state whether institutional ethical approval had been sought or obtained.
“However, 10 studies did not state whether institutional ethical approval had been sought or obtained [25, 46, 79, 82, 83, 86, 87, 91, 93, 94].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [25]
With the exception of 12 studies, almost all included studies used convenience, purposive or snowball sampling to recruit participants.
“With the exception of 12 studies, [25, 55, 68, 81, 86, 88–90, 92, 94–96], almost all studies used convenience, purposive or snowball sampling to recruit participants.”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [25]
With the exception of one study which employed author-developed measures of grief and support service satisfaction, the remaining quantitative studies employed standardised and validated measures for both predictors and grief.
“With the exception of one study which employed author-developed measures of grief and support service satisfaction [70] the remaining quantitative studies employed standardised and validated measures for both predictors and grief [23–25, 67, 76, 84, 86–96].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [25]
Of the 12 quantitative studies that provided raw grief scores for men, outcomes varied considerably both between studies and within them.
“Of the 12 quantitative studies that provided raw grief scores for men, outcomes varied considerably both between studies and within them [23, 25, 67, 76, 84, 87, 88, 91, 93–96].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [25]
The majority of average total PGS scores across remaining studies were between 73 and 83, with SDs ranging between values of 16 and 22.
“However, the majority of average total PGS scores across remaining studies were between 73 and 83, with SDs ranging between values of 16 and 22 [25, 87, 88, 91, 93].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [25]
Men who viewed an ultrasound image had an average PGS total score 23 points higher than those who did not view any images.
“Men who viewed an ultrasound image had an average PGS total score 23 points higher than those who did not view any images [25]”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [25]
Of the included quantitative studies, 16 included an analysis on predictors of men's grief and/or correlations to related factors.
“Of the included quantitative studies, 16 included an analysis on predictors of men’s grief and/or correlations to related factors [23–25, 67, 76, 84, 86–93, 95, 96].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [25]
In five quantitative studies, increasing gestational age was associated with higher grief scores.
“In five quantitative studies, increasing gestational age was associated with higher grief scores [23–25, 67, 93].”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [25]
Active Grief subscale reflects outward expressions of grief and emotions, which men often display less frequently than women.
“This reflects outward expressions of grief and emotions, which men often display less frequently than women [25, 91, 95, 96], and may indicate a selection bias in qualitative studies toward men with more extreme grief responses.”
From Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: a systematic review and emerging theoretical model (2020) · cites this paper as [25]
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- Authors
- Puddifoot, J. E., & Johnson, M. P.
- Affiliations
- Teesside University (GB)
- University of Wolverhampton (GB)
- Venue
- Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1999-02
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 89-93
- ISSN
- 0264-6838 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-672X
- OpenAlex
- W2091181403
- Cited by
- 50
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 1.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
- Keywords
- miscarriage, male partners, despair, coping difficulties, Perinatal Grief Scale, gestation length, ultrasonography, gender differences in grief
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