Outcome Evaluation of Bereavement Groups for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

✍ Scribed by Kevin P. Stoddart; Lillian Burke; Valerie Temple

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 83 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1360-2322
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1468-3148.2002.00084.x

✦ Synopsis

Background Individuals with intellectual disabilities respond to loss in similar ways to other individuals. Bereavement interventions, whether provided individually or in a group, need to be planned according to the person's understanding, presenting symptoms, psychological functioning and support system. Measuring the effectiveness of such interventions is critical in order to increase our knowledge of useful interventions for this population. The present authors discuss individual and group bereavement therapy, and outline the goals and approaches used in their bereavement groups for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Methods Individuals referred for bereavement group therapy were interviewed and assessed prior to their participation in the group. Measures of depression, anxiety, and knowledge of death and bereavement issues were administered before and after group participation.

Results Scores for depression were significantly lower following group participation. However, scores for anxiety were mild and not significantly reduced. The participants' understanding and knowledge of the bereavement process did not improve significantly. When those with single and dual diagnosis were considered separately, those with a dual diagnosis experienced a significant decrease in depression, while those with a single diagnosis did not. Furthermore, depression scores for those with a dual diagnosis were generally higher.

Conclusions The present preliminary investigation of therapeutic outcomes for bereavement group intervention suggests little change in anxiety and knowledge of death/bereavement issues, but significant improvement in symptoms of depression for participants, particularly those with a dual diagnosis. The weaknesses of the present study are discussed along with possible improvements for future studies.