title: Attachment style dimensions can affect prolonged grief risk in caregivers of terminally ill patients with cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study was to evaluate the predictive role of attachment dimensions on the risk of prolonged grief. Sixty caregivers of 51 terminally ill patients with cancer who had been admitted in a hospice were selected.
  
  
  METHODS
  Caregivers were interviewed using Attachment Scale Questionnaire, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, and Prolonged Grief Disorder 12 (PG-12).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The consort caregivers showed higher PG-12 level compared to the sibling caregivers. Anxiety, depression, need for approval, and preoccupation with relationships levels were significantly correlated with PG-12 scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Female gender, high levels of depression, and preoccupation with relationships significantly predicted higher levels of prolonged grief risk.
authors.affiliation: Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy carlo.lai@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry and Psychology Institute, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luciani
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Roma, Hospice-SLA-Alzheimer, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Roma, Hospice-SLA-Alzheimer, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Morelli
authors.affiliation: Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cappelluti
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Roma, Hospice-SLA-Alzheimer, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Italo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Penco
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aceto
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Roma, Hospice-SLA-Alzheimer, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lombardo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019452:Terminally Ill / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: anxiety; attachment; caregiver; depression; palliative care; prolonged grief disorder