Bereavement and Unresolved Grief in Psychiatric Outpatients

Abstract

Of 1000 consecutive outpatients seen at a university-run psychiatric clinic, 430(43%) had experienced the death of a first degree relative at some time in their lives. Of those who responded to a questionnaire item asking whether they were still having difficulty dealing with the loss, 211 patients had evidence of unresolved grief. The incidence of unresolved grief was greatest among patients who had lost children and lowest among patients who had lost parents. Unresolved grief was associated with: increased intensity of affective symptomatology; past histories of depression, suicide attempts, and alcohol abuse; and family histories of depression. The significance of these findings and the relationship between unresolved grief and depression are discussed.