Interpersonal predictors of outcome following short-term group therapy for complicated grief: a replication

The current study represented a replication of previous research, addressing measures of interpersonal relatedness as predictors of outcome for dynamically oriented, short-term group (STG) psychotherapy for patients presenting with complicated grief. In an analysis of data from a comparative trial of two forms (interpretive, supportive) of STG therapy (n = 107), Ogrodniczuk, Piper, McCallum, Joyce and Rosie reported that three distinct indices of interpersonal relatedness-quality of object relations, current social functioning and attachment insecurity-each had significant relationships with measures of treatment outcome, with attachment insecurity emerging as the strongest predictor. The current study (n = 110) was based on data from a subsequent trial of the two therapy approaches that examined the effect of group composition on outcome, by Piper, Ogrodniczuk, Joyce, Weideman and Rosie. Predictor variables and outcome factors involved in the current analyses were similar or identical to those employed by Ogrodniczuk et al., and an identical analytic strategy was followed. Only the patient's attachment insecurity emerged as a strong predictor of psychotherapy outcome, providing a replication of the key finding from the previous study. The clinical implications and limitations of the results are discussed.