Dysfluency and topic orientation in bereaved individuals: bridging individual and group studies

Discourse of bereaved individuals talking about the deceased and other topics was examined using computer-based text analyses and judged ratings of verbal behavior for patterns indicating dysfluency and orientation toward topics. Using factor analysis, the discourse structure of low-distress bereaved individuals was compared with that of high-distress bereaved individuals and with that of single bereaved individual both early and late in psychotherapy. Meaningful differences were observed for the distress groups and for the single individual early and late in therapy, and these findings indicate possible quantitative and qualitative means for detecting maladaptive responses to stressors.