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Loneliness in Bereavement: Measurement Matters
Anneke Vedder1, Margeret S Stroebe1,2, Henk A W Schut1
1Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Frontiers in Psychology
|September 30, 2021
Summary
Loneliness significantly impacts bereavement. This review highlights major disparities in how loneliness is measured after loss, impacting grief complication diagnoses.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Grief Studies
- Mental Health Assessment
Background:
- Loneliness plays a substantial role in bereavement, creating a void after a close person's death.
- There is ongoing debate regarding loneliness's precise role and inclusion as a core symptom for diagnosing grief complications.
- The COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the need to understand loneliness's impact during bereavement, including its prevalence, intensity, duration, and associated difficulties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the scientific literature on how loneliness after bereavement has been operationalized and measured.
- To identify disparities in loneliness assessment methods within bereavement research.
- To inform healthcare professionals on selecting appropriate loneliness measures for their studies.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of scientific literature.
- Analysis of 63 articles based on 51 independent datasets.
- Examination of how loneliness was operationalized and measured in each study.
Main Results:
- Major disparities were found in loneliness assessment methods.
- Approximately 50% of studies used validated scales for loneliness measurement, while the other 50% used single- or few-item measures.
- Diverse instructions, content, and answer categories were employed across studies, indicating a lack of standardization.
Conclusions:
- The heterogeneity in loneliness assessment poses challenges for consistent grief complication diagnosis.
- Selecting an appropriate loneliness measure requires careful consideration of study goals and participant groups.
- Healthcare professionals should make informed decisions when choosing loneliness assessment tools, utilizing available reviews to guide their selection.
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