The 10-Mile Mourning Bridge and the Brief Symptom Inventory: close relatives?

One goal of this longitudinal bereavement study is to analyze the ability of a simple 0-10 visual analogue scale, the 10-Mile Mourning Bridge, to measure progress through bereavement. Based on a longitudinal study (n = 74 at posttest), Bridge results are significantly correlated with the General Severity Index, the strongest global indicator of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI, Derogatis & Spencer, 1982). The self report Bridges are significantly related to 8 of the 9 clinical scales of the BSI (Depression, Obsessive/Compulsiveness, Anxiety, Phobic Anxiety, Hostility, Psychoticism, Paranoia and Somaticism). Uses of the 10-Mile Mourning Bridge in daily hospice work are discussed.