Research supported by University of Oxford’s Department of Experimental Psychology Prof. Anke Ehlers, Theme Lead of the BRC’s Psychological Treatments Theme, has found that the type of coping strategy used in the early months following loss has a significant impact on later symptoms of prolonged grief disorder (PGD).
PGD is characterised by intense and debilitating feelings of loss and can lead to changes in a person’s functioning. It affects approximately 10% of people following the death of a loved one.
Post-bereavement coping strategies can be adaptive, which make things easier in the moment, but also easier in the long run. Maladaptive coping strategies make things easier in the moment but harder in the long run. Maladaptive strategies turn away from problems, while adaptive strategies face them and deal with them.
The article, published recently in ScienceDirect, “From loss to disorder: The influence of maladaptive coping on prolonged grief”, identifies which coping strategies lead to poorer or better outcomes for bereaved people.
