Ankara'da Yakın Kaybı Sonrası Yas Belirtilerinin Yaygınlığı ve Yordayıcı Etmenler (Sosyodemografik Özellikler, Yakın Kaybının Özellikleri, Anksiyete Duyarlılığı ve Yetişkin Ayrılık Anksiyetesi ile İlişkisi)

Abstract

Most of the bereaved people emotionally and physically adjust to the loss with time, although a minority suffers from more intense and prolonged psychiatric symptoms. Such differences in grief process vary by the characteristics of individual, deceased, relationship to the deceased and bereavement. There are few studies about the prevalence of grief in general population. Majority of studies about grief were conducted among clinical samples or some special groups and epidemiological studies based on general population are very limited. Our study aims to scan grief symptoms, determine the prevalence rates of pathological grief, and association between bereavement-related factors, sociodemographic variables, anxiety sensitivity, adult separation anxiety, depression and grief symptoms. We also wanted to examine common and different aspects of separation and bereavement on the person left behind. We used a random household sample of all people over 15 living in 300 homes in Ankara city center. All participants were assessed for sociodemographic variables, bereavement presence and related factors, separation presence and related factors and they were given Inventory of Complicated Grief separately for the most affected bereavement and for the separation. They were also given Beck Depression Inventory, Anxiety Sensitivity Index and Adult Separation Anxiety Questionnaire. The sample consisted of 543 subjects. The prevalence of pathological grief was 4.6% in bereaved population and 2.9% in general population. Grief total score was higher in women, less educated, unemployed and poorer participants. High grief total score was also associated with younger deceased and child or sibling loss. The total scores of all clinical scales used in the study positively correlated to grief total score. We found out that similar symptoms could be seen after separation but they were less severe than bereaved group. We thought that grief was not specifically seen after bereavement but also after non-bereavement loss. Our study is the first epidemiological study to report the prevalence of pathological grief in Turkey. Defining the prevalence and predictors of pathological grief will determine the social importance of the disease and help professionals develop prevention and treatment interventions.