Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jan-Jun;39(1-5):84-91.
doi: 10.1080/07481187.2014.893274. Epub 2014 Oct 8.

Death thoughts and images in treatment-seekers after violent loss

Jenna L Baddeley  1 , Joah L Williams, Ted Rynearson, Fanny Correa, Connie Saindon, Alyssa A Rheingold
Affiliations

Death thoughts and images in treatment-seekers after violent loss

Jenna L Baddeley et al. Death Stud. 2015 Jan-Jun.

Abstract

Violent loss survivors often describe experiencing recurrent imagery about their loved one's death. The Death Imagery Scale assesses 5 kinds of imagery: reenactment, rescue, revenge, reunion, and remorse. We explored the frequency of these forms of imagery and their associations with PTSD, depression, and/or complicated grief (CG) among 130 treatment-seeking survivors who were, on average, 3.5 years postloss. Reenactment, rescue, and remorse imagery were most frequently endorsed, and all forms of imagery were associated with PTSD, depression, and CG. Bereaved parents reported more remorse and reunion imagery than others. Homicide survivors reported more revenge imagery than suicide and accident survivors.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5. Washington, DC: Author; 2013.
    1. Amick-McMullan A, Kilpatrick DG, Resnick HS. Homicide as a risk factor for PTSD among surviving family members. Behavior Modification. 1991;15:545–559. - PubMed
    1. Baddeley JL, Singer JA. A social interactional model of bereavement narrative disclosure. Review of General Psychology. 2009;13:202–218.
    1. Beck AT, Ward CH, Mendelson M, Mock J, Erbaugh J. An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1961;4:561–571. - PubMed
    1. Carnelley KB, Wortman CB, Bolger N, Burke CT. The time course of grief reactions to spousal loss: Evidence from a national probability sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2006;91:476–492. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources