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Biomedical subjects

N Martinek

Publications and source records attributed to N Martinek.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

A longitudinal study comparing bereavement phenomena in recently bereaved spouses, adult children and parents.

OBJECTIVE: The study investigated previous research findings and clinical impressions which indicated that the intensity of grief for parents who had lost a child was likely to be higher than that for widows/widowers, who in turn were likely to have more intense reactions than adult children losing a parent. METHOD: In order to compare the intensities of the bereavement reactions among representative community samples of bereaved spouses (n = 44), adult children (n = 40) and parents (n = 36), and to follow the course of such phenomena, a detailed Bereavement Questionnaire was administered at four time points over a 13-month period following the loss. RESULTS: Measures based on items central to the construct of bereavement showed significant time and group differences in accordance with the proposed hypothesis. More global items associated with the construct of resolution showed a significant time effect, but without significant group differences. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence from this study supports the hypothesis that in non-clinical, community-based populations the frequency with which core bereavement phenomena are experienced is in the order: bereaved parents > bereaved spouses > bereaved adult children.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Measuring core bereavement phenomena.

As part of a longitudinal study of bereavement phenomena in three groups, bereaved spouses, bereaved adult children and bereaved parents, scale development was carried out using a pool of bereavement phenomenology questions administered prospectively. The items were derived from the literature, in particular studies dealing with the measurement of grief/bereavement, as well as from clinical experience. Factor analysis of theoretically grouped items produced seven subscales, three of which tapped frequently experienced phenomena in the bereaved. These three subscales formed the basis of a single measure, labelled the Core Bereavement Items (CBI), which demonstrated high reliability and sound face and discriminant validity. Preliminary analysis suggested that the CBI will prove to be a reliable and valid instrument with respect to the measure of core bereavement phenomena in commonly bereaved groups in Western society.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Psychological distress and bereavement.

Some 115 bereaved subjects (43 spouses, 39 adult children, and 33 parents) were followed-up prospectively over 12 months following the acute bereavement period. They completed the Zung Depression Scale, Spielberger's State and Trait Anxiety Measure, the GHQ-28, and Eysenck's Personality Inventory at four time points. With the exception of EPI-Extroversion, there was a significant decrease in all scores over the period encompassing the study. There were no differences between the three groups on any of the psychological variables measured. Scores on the Zung Depression Scale, state and trait anxiety, and neuroticism correlated significantly with a measure of core bereavement phenomenology, the Core Bereavement Items, at each time point for each group.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1996

The bereavement response: a cluster analysis.

BACKGROUND: Literature and clinical experience suggest that some people experience atypical, complicated or pathological bereavement reactions in response to a major loss. METHOD: Three groups of community-based bereaved subjects--spouses (n = 44), adult children (n = 40), and parents (n = 36)--were followed up four times in the 13 months after a loss. A 17-item scale of core bereavement times was developed and used to investigate the intensity of the bereavement response over time. RESULTS: Cluster analysis revealed a pattern of bereavement-related symptoms approximating a syndrome of chronic grief in 11 (9.2%) of the 120 subjects. None of the respondents displayed a pattern consistent with delayed or absent grief. CONCLUSIONS: In a non-clinical community sample of bereaved people, delayed or absent grief is infrequently seen, unlike chronic grief, which is demonstrated in a minority.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Concepts of normal bereavement.

This study used a 25-item questionnaire to examine the perceptions of 128 people with a close interest in bereavement and its literature. The study is part of a project to identify key aspects and the bereavement process. Subjects were asked to rate their perceptions of key bereavement phenomena with regards their frequency in the acute and later stages of bereavement. Descriptive results are presented and discussed, and a profile of phenomena perceived to be common to both stages is outlined.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1993

An international perspective on bereavement related concepts.

This paper reports on part of a study which was aimed at assessing the views of leading researchers, theorists or clinicians working in the field of bereavement on key issues including, as reported here, concepts of different forms of grief as well as favoured theoretical orientations. Of a range of conceptual models the most favoured, by a large margin, were attachment theory and the psychodynamic model. The views of the "experts" were canvassed with respect to the use of seven selected terms used to denote some variant of the grieving process. There was, on the part of the respondents, reasonable support for the syndromes of "delayed", "chronic", "anticipatory" and "absent" grief. "Inhibited" and "unresolved" grief tended to be described using one of the four terms already supported, while the use of the term "distorted grief" attracted little support.

Adaptation, Psychological↗