Death StudiesPub Date : 2024-06-18DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2368330
Sherman Aclaracion Lee, Tomás Caycho-Rodríguez, Lindsey W Vilca, Robert A Neimeyer
{"title":"Can a global score be derived from the Integration of Stressful Life Experiences Scale-Short Form (ISLES-SF)? Empirical support for a bi-factor model.","authors":"Sherman Aclaracion Lee, Tomás Caycho-Rodríguez, Lindsey W Vilca, Robert A Neimeyer","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2024.2368330","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2024.2368330","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Integration of Stressful Life Experiences Scale-Short Form (ISLES-SF) is a popular, two-factor measure of meaning-making. Although researchers have used this instrument to calculate a global index of meaning-making, there has been little evidence to support this practice. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the validity of this approach by analyzing data from 2,380 American adults during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. A series of confirmatory factor analyses, reliability analyses, and concurrent validity analyses support a bi-factor model of meaning-making. These results affirm the practice of not only using the ISLES-SF to measure meaning-making at a global level, but also to interpret its two specific dimensions (<i>Comprehensibility</i> and <i>Footing in the World</i>) as well.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141418211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2024-06-12DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2353362
Rebecca Philipp, Charlotte Walbaum, Sigrun Vehling
{"title":"Psychodynamic psychotherapy in serious physical illness: A systematic literature review of approaches and techniques for the treatment of existential distress and mental disorders.","authors":"Rebecca Philipp, Charlotte Walbaum, Sigrun Vehling","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2024.2353362","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2024.2353362","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Individuals with life-limiting physical illness experience lower mental health due to existential distress (e.g., demoralization, death anxiety) and mental disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety). Psychodynamic psychotherapy may be helpful in alleviating such distress by focusing patients' unconscious emotional and relational motivations. There is yet limited knowledge on the application of psychodynamic psychotherapies in this population. We systematically searched electronic databases and analyzed results using meta-ethnography. Of 15,112 identified records, we included 31 qualitative studies applying psychodynamic psychotherapies (n = 69, mean age: 49.3 [SD = 16.9)], 56% female). Psychodynamic treatment in this population can be beneficial when considering modification of the treatment setting to the illness reality, balancing needs for autonomy and separation in light of helplessness and death anxiety, and careful integration of supportive interventions and conflict-oriented interventions (e.g., exploring relational issues that interfere with mourning illness-related loss). We discuss future directions for the development and evaluation of treatments specific to serious physical illness.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141310310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2024-06-10DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2361761
Afonso Gouveia
{"title":"Navigating autonomy and decision-making capacity: Legal and ethical considerations in Medical Assistance in Dying for individuals with mental disorders in Portugal.","authors":"Afonso Gouveia","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2024.2361761","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07481187.2024.2361761","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Portugal has recently amended its absolute prohibition on euthanasia and assisted suicide that now permits it conditionally and exonerates those providing this practice. People with a mental disorder or medical condition that affects their decision-making capacity (DMC), regardless of the mental disorder, its contemporaneity, or its connection to the decision itself are expressly excluded from this service unless they are assessed and deemed capacitous. In the absence of any statute concerning capacity or assisted decision-making, this legislation raises concerns about potential discrimination, conflicting with the presumption of capacity principle. A shift toward a DMC model is proposed. This model allows for the assessment of capacity for specific decisions, addressing the ethical implications of respecting or overriding a terminally ill person's autonomous will for medical assistance in dying. This review paper examines the challenges of assessing DMC in depression and examines several questions of ethical and legislative nature for future consideration.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141300295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2024-06-07DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2361743
Wendy Thompson, Lisa Minor, Jennifer Gerlach
{"title":"Undergraduate nursing student perceptions of the unexpected death of a classmate: A qualitative study.","authors":"Wendy Thompson, Lisa Minor, Jennifer Gerlach","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2024.2361743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2024.2361743","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Experiencing the unexpected death of a classmate is distressing and overwhelming for college-aged students, particularly those in a nursing major who spend a tremendous amount of time together within the classroom and high-stress clinical settings. Previous studies have identified ways to help nursing students understand their grief reactions in response to patient-critical illness or death. However, data related to how the sudden death of a classmate impacts traditional nursing students has been minimally studied. This exploratory qualitative study examined nursing student grief reactions, as well as the university's response to the death of a student in a rural Southeastern institution. Results yielded five themes, including (1) a greater appreciation of life, (2) the realization of the fragility of life, (3) fear of the unknown, (4) strong sense of community and (5) meeting immediate and long-term student grief needs. Recommendations for nurse educators and university administration are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141287868","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2024-06-06DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2361771
Beyza Nur Çelik, Betül Tanacıoğlu Aydın
{"title":"Comparison of university students who experienced the death of a parent and those who did not in terms of self-compassion and difficulty in emotion regulation.","authors":"Beyza Nur Çelik, Betül Tanacıoğlu Aydın","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2024.2361771","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2024.2361771","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Against a background of scarce research into the relationship between difficulty in emotion regulation and self-compassion among bereaved populations, the aim of this study was to examine self-compassion and difficulty in emotion regulation among university students who had experienced the death of a parent (n = 150) and those who had not (n = 474). It was found that the self-compassion scores of the university students with a deceased parent were significantly lower than the scores of those with living parents. Similarly, university students whose parent had passed away had higher scores for difficulty in emotion regulation than students who had not lived through that trauma. Our results show that for university students losing a parent may be associated with less self-compassion and more difficulties in emotion regulation.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141283285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2024-06-06DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2361755
Lauren E Solkowski, Rebecca L Utz, Kara B Dassel
{"title":"The association of religion with advance care planning.","authors":"Lauren E Solkowski, Rebecca L Utz, Kara B Dassel","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2024.2361755","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2024.2361755","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Personal preferences influence end-of-life (EOL) decision-making and are commonly associated with engagement in the advance care planning process. Completing an advance directive (AD) allows individuals to formally document and legally report their EOL care preferences. This study explored how two aspects of religion-personal religious beliefs and formal religion practices-may be associated with advance care planning. A national sample of healthy adults in the United States aged 50 years and older (n = 514; 74% cisgender women) completed surveys detailing their EOL preferences, advance care planning, personal religious beliefs, and formal religion practices. Using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), we find that a higher belief in God's role at EOL was associated with a higher preference for life-prolonging measures. Using logistic regression, those with a higher belief in God's role at EOL had lower odds of AD completion. Multiple dimensions of religion should be considered when studying health care preferences and decision-making.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141283241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2024-06-06DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2361759
Anneli Silvén Hagström, Ulla Forinder, Emma Hovén
{"title":"Losing a parent to suicide: Posttraumatic stress, sense of coherence and family functioning in children, adolescents and remaining parents before attending a grief support program.","authors":"Anneli Silvén Hagström, Ulla Forinder, Emma Hovén","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2024.2361759","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2024.2361759","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Parental suicide in childhood increases the risk of mental ill-health, substance use and premature mortality, particularly through suicide. Postvention supports tailored to the well-being and functioning of suicide-bereaved children and their remaining parents are thus of critical importance to counteract negative development. This explorative cross-sectional study seeks clinically relevant knowledge by investigating posttraumatic stress (PTS), sense of coherence (SOC) and family functioning among children (<i>n</i> = 22), adolescents (<i>n</i> = 18) and parents (<i>n</i> = 40) before their attendance at a family-based grief support program. The results demonstrate critical health outcomes for children and parents, and in particular for adolescents. Clinically relevant symptoms of PTS were found in 36% of children, 65% of adolescents, and 37% of parents. All groups showed lower SOC than the norm. Adolescents reported dysfunctional family functioning for the dimensions Communication and Affective Responsiveness. Psychoeducational and trauma-informed support is recommended where family communication and meaning construction of suicide is given special attention.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141283240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2024-06-04DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2360442
Xiangling Hou, Na Hu, Tianqiang Hu, Renhong Shen, Miaomiao Chen, Mark D Griffiths
{"title":"The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Psychometric properties and measurement invariance across 10 months.","authors":"Xiangling Hou, Na Hu, Tianqiang Hu, Renhong Shen, Miaomiao Chen, Mark D Griffiths","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2024.2360442","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2024.2360442","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to various negative consequences including fear. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) has been widely used in diverse cultures, but no study has ever investigated its longitudinal measurement invariance and predictive validity. Therefore, we examined its longitudinal measurement invariance and predictive validity over 10 months. A sample of Chinese undergraduates (<i>N</i> = 682; first wave 842; 682 second wave) completed the FCV-19S as well as measures assessing depression, anxiety, and stress. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted along with measurement invariance testing. The results showed that the bifactor model fitted well, and significantly predicted stress and anxiety, but not depression. The FCV-19S demonstrated partial measurement invariance (i.e. configural and metric invariances) across time. These findings suggest that the Chinese version of FCV-19S is a reliable tool and could be used in evaluating the severity of fear of COVID-19 among Chinese young adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141237520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2024-06-04DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2361744
Marie Sejrsgaard, Dorte Hvidtjørn, Christina Prinds
{"title":"The paradox of awareness of death in parenthood transition-A qualitative study.","authors":"Marie Sejrsgaard, Dorte Hvidtjørn, Christina Prinds","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2024.2361744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2024.2361744","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the high-income countries of Scandinavia, there is a low statistical risk of death during childbirth. However, awareness of the possibility of death seems to have prevailed. In existential psychology and philosophy, awareness of death is a universal condition in life, and facing the anxiety this awareness might invoke has the potential of being life-invigorating. In a hermeneutic analysis of Qualitative data, generated in a study on new parents' existential meaning-making, this study aimed to explore awareness of death as experienced in parenthood transition. The results found two overarching themes: <i>Awareness of my own Finitude</i> and <i>Fragility of our loved ones</i>. These were interpreted in existential philosophical and psychological theories, and concludes that awareness of death might signify an existential integration of 'self' in the new role of parenthood. Acknowledging these thoughts as healthcare professionals could support the meaning-making of parenthood transition, by normalizing their universal nature.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141237521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2024-06-03DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2355234
Cristiana do Nascimento, Sofia Fontoura Dias, Sofia Rodrigues, Rosa Marina Afonso, E Liliana Sousa
{"title":"End of life and death of residents: Experiences and practices of care facility directors in Portuguese residential care facilities.","authors":"Cristiana do Nascimento, Sofia Fontoura Dias, Sofia Rodrigues, Rosa Marina Afonso, E Liliana Sousa","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2024.2355234","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2024.2355234","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Residential care facilities (RCFs) are places where older people live and usually die. This exploratory qualitative study aims to describe the experiences and practices of the directors of Portuguese RCFs regarding residents' end of life and death. Data were obtained from 17 care facility directors (CFDs) who participated in three focus groups. Thematic data analysis was performed. The CFDs described their practices and experiences framed within three moments in the life journey of the residents in RCFs: admission and living in RCF; end of life and death; postmortem and new admission - continuing and occupying the vacancy. The results suggest that end of life and death are only addressed in the last days/hours of life of the resident. However, the CFDs' approach throughout the stay of the residents in the RCF could allow for the expression of their wishes and wills, which could facilitate a good and dignified death.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141237519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}