The current research project sought to develop and validate an instrument to assess the multidimensional aspects of grief in response to the death of a loved one as it pertains to adolescents. A resulting 34-item scale with five factors emerged from an initial validation, with a subsequent cross-validation confirming the reliability and validity estimates. Preliminary results suggest the instrument may be useful in clinical settings and to practitioners in grief support and related areas. Implications for practice and assessment as well as limitations are presented.
AdamsT.BenzerJ., & SteinhardtM. (1997). The conceptualization and measurement of perceived wellness: Integrating balance across and within dimensions. American Journal of Health Promotion, 11, 208–218.
2.
AntonovskyA. (1988). Unraveling the mystery of health: How people manage stress and stay well.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
3.
BakerJ.SedneyM., & GrossE. (1992). Psychological tasks for bereaved children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 62, 105–116.
BarrettT. W., & ScottT. B. (1989). Development of the grief experience questionnaire. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 19, 201–215.
6.
BeckA. T., & SteerR. A. (1984). Internal consistencies of the original and revised Beck Depression Inventory. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 40, 1365–1367.
7.
BoelenP. A.Den BoutJ. V.De KeijserJ., & HoijtinkH. (2003). Reliability and validity of the Dutch version of the inventory of traumatic grief. Death Studies, 27, 227–247.
8.
BowlbyJ. (1980). Attachment and loss.New York: Basic Books, Inc.
9.
BrownG. W., & HarrisT. (1978). Social origins of depression: A reply. Psychological Medicine, 8, 577–588.
California State University. (2003b). Psychological Counseling and Wellness Center: Spiritual wellness. Retrieved April 13, 2004, http://www.csuchico.edu/cnts/cwc/q.html.
14.
CronbachL. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 45, 99–105.
15.
CurtisK., & NewmanT. (2001). Do community-based support services benefit bereaved children? A review of empirical evidence. Child Health Care Development, 27, 487–495.
16.
DepkenD. (1994). Wellness through the lens of gender: A paradigm shift. Wellness Perspective, 10, 54–69.
17.
FaschingbauerT.ZisookS., & DeVaulR. (1987). The Texas Revised Inventory of Grief. In ZisookS. (Ed.), Biopsychosocial aspects of bereavement (pp. 111–124). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
FreudS. (1917). Mourning and melancholia. In The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 14). London: Hogarth Press.
20.
GabrielR. M., & KirschlingJ. M. (1989). Assessing grief among the bereaved elderly: A review of existing measures. Bereavement Care, 29–54.
21.
GigerJ., & DavidhizarR. (1995). Transcultural nursing: Assessment and intervention (2nd ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.
22.
GreenbergJ. (1985). Health and wellness: A conceptual differentiation. Journal of School Health, 55, 403–406.
23.
GreenbergJ., & PargmanD. (1986). Physical fitness: A wellness approach.Englewood, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.
24.
HanssonR. O.CarpenterB. N., & FairchildS. K. (1993). Measurement issues in bereavement. In StroebeM.StroebeW., & HanssonR. O. (Eds.), Handbook of bereavement: Theory, research and intervention (pp. 62–74). New York: Cambridge Printing Press.
25.
HerbertM. (1996). Supporting bereaved and dying children and their parents.London: British Psychological Society.
26.
HoganN. S. (1990). Hogan Sibling Inventory of Bereavement. In TouliatosJ.PermutterB., & StraussM. (Eds.), Handbook of family measurement techniques (p. 524). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Press.
27.
HoganN. S.GreenfieldD. B., & SchmidtL. A. (2001). Development and validation of the Hogan Grief Reaction Checklist. Death Studies, 25, 1–32.
28.
HudsonW. W. (1982). The clinical measurement package: A field manual.Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.
KlineR. B. (1998). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling.New York: Guilford Press.
31.
Kübler-RossE. (1970). The care of the dying: Whose job is it?Psychiatry in Medicine, 1, 103–107.
32.
LevE., & McCorkleR. (1993). A shortened version of an instrument measuring bereavement. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 30, 213–226.
33.
LindemannE. (1944). Symptomatology and management of acute grief. American Journal of Psychiatry, 42, 141–148.
34.
NeimeyerR. A. (2000). Grief therapy and research as essential tensions: Prescriptions for a progressive partnership. Death Studies, 24, 603–610.
35.
NeimeyerR. A., & HoganN. (2001). Measurement of grief. In StroebeM.HanssonR.StroebeW., & SchutH. (Eds.), Handbook of bereavement research: Consequences, coping, and care (p. 104). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
36.
NeumanB. (1989). The Neuman systems model (2nd ed.). Norwalk, CT: Appleton-Lange.
37.
NosalM., & NosalE. (2003, June). Three-parameter weibull generator for replacing missing observations. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Conference on Statistics and Related Fields, Hawaii.
38.
NunnallyJ. C., & BernsteinI. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
39.
OffordD., & BoyleM. (1989). Ontario child health study: Correlates of disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatrists, 28, 856–861.
40.
PargmanD. (1997). Understanding sport behavior.Englewood, NJ: Prentice Hall.
41.
PetscherY.StanleyC.AlexanderA.MezzinaP., & McKnightC. (2004). Children, adolescents, and grief: The caring tree model. (Unpublished manuscript).
42.
PrigersonH. G.MaciejewskiP. K.ReynoldsC. F.BierhalsA. J.NewsomJ. T.FasiczkaA.FrankE.DomanJ., & MillerM. (1995). Inventory of complicated grief: A scale to measure maladaptive symptoms of loss. Psychiatry Research, 59, 65–79.
43.
RandoT. A. (1993). Treatment of complicated mourning.Champaign, IL: Research Press.
44.
ReynoldsC., & KamphausR. W. (2002). The clinician's guide to the behavior assessment system for children.New York: Guilford Press.
45.
RobinsonL., & PickettM. (1996). Assessment of adult sibling grief: A review of measurement issues. The Hospice Journal, 11, 1–18.
46.
SandersC. M.MaugerP. A., & StrongP. N. (1985). A manual for the grief experience inventory.Blowing Rock, NC: The Center for the Study of Separation and Loss.
47.
SilvermanP., & WordenJ. (1992). Children's reactions in the early months after the death of a parent. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 62, 93–104.
48.
SpringerD. W.AbellN., & HudsonW. W. (2002). Creating and validating rapid assessment instruments for practice and research: Part I. Research on Social Work Practice, 12, 408–439.
49.
TateR. (1998). An introduction to modeling outcomes (2nd ed.). Edina, MN: Burgess International Group Inc.
50.
TomitaT., & KitamuraT. (2002). Clinical and research measures of grief: A reconsideration. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 43, 95–102.
51.
VelezC.JohnsonJ., & CohenP. (1989). A longitudinal analysis of selected risk factors for childhood psychopathology. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatrists, 28, 861–864.
52.
WellerE. B., & WellerR. A. (1991). Mood disorders. In LewisM. (Ed.), Child and adolescent psychiatry: A comprehensive textbook (pp. 351–412). Baltimore: Williams & Williams Co.
53.
WhitmerJ., & SweeneyT. (1992). A holistic model of wellness prevention over the life span. Journal of Counseling Development, 71, 140–148.
54.
WolfensteinM. (1966). How is mourning possible?Psychoanalytical Study of the Child, 21, 93–123.
55.
WordenJ. W. (1991). Grief counseling and grief therapy: A handbook for the mental health practitioner (2nd ed.). New York: Springer Publishing Co.
56.
WordenJ. W. (1996). Children and grief: When a parent dies.New York: Guilford Press.
57.
ZinnerE. S.BallJ. D.StuttsM. L., & MikulkaP. (1991). Modification and factor analysis of the grief experience inventory in non-death loss/bereavement situations. Omega, 23, 142–151.
