title: Risk Factors for Anticipatory Grief in Family Members of Terminally Ill Veterans Receiving Palliative Care Services.
abstract: Anticipatory grief is the process associated with grieving the loss of loved ones in advance of their inevitable death. Because anticipatory grief has been associated with a variety of outcomes, risk factors for this condition deserve closer consideration. Fifty-seven family members of terminally ill, hospice-eligible veterans receiving palliative care services completed measures assessing psychosocial factors and conditions. Elevated anticipatory grief was found in families characterized by relational dependency, lower education, and poor grief-specific support, who also experienced discomfort with closeness and intimacy, neuroticism, spiritual crisis, and an inability to make sense of the loss. Thus, in this sample, anticipatory grief appears to be part of a cluster of factors and associated distress that call for early monitoring and possible intervention.
authors.affiliation: a Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Department of Psychology , University of Memphis , Memphis , Tennessee , USA.
authors.forename: Laurie A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.affiliation: b Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center , Memphis , Tennessee , USA.
authors.forename: Karen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: b Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center , Memphis , Tennessee , USA.
authors.forename: Khatidja S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychology , University of Memphis , Memphis , Tennessee , USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.affiliation: a Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Department of Psychology , University of Memphis , Memphis , Tennessee , USA.
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Smigelsky
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychology , University of Memphis , Memphis , Tennessee , USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Neimeyer
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001601:Bereavement; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000075384:Neuroticism; D009769:Object Attachment; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019452:Terminally Ill / Q000523:psychology*; D014728:Veterans
keywords: anticipatory grief; bereavement; palliative care; risk factors; terminal illness; veteran