Prolonged Grief in Young Bereaved Spouses and Partners

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of the research is to learn more about the experience of grief in young bereaved spouses/partners. Recent research has shown that young bereaved spouses/partners experience grief uniquely from other age groups, but it is still unclear how certain factors affect the experience of grief. The investigators research team is interested in studying how the psychological factors of trauma, personality, and meaning of the loss affect grief reactions in young spouses/partners after the loss of a spouse to cancer.

Official Title
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Lost to Cancer: Prolonged Grief in Young Bereaved Spouses and Partners

Conditions
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Grief

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: in-person or telephone interview


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Participants must be at least 20 years old and no older than 49 years and 11 months old. Participants must have lost a spouse/domestic partner to cancer 6 months to 3 years earlier. Participants must be able to give informed consent. Participants must be able to comprehend English to complete study assessments. Exclusion Criteria: Major psychopathology or cognitive impairment likely in the judgment of the research staff to interfere with the participation or completion of the protocol.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 20 Years
Maximum Age: 49 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| 1<br>Young spouses/domestic partners (20-49 years old) of cancer patients who have died from cancer. | Behavioral: in-person or telephone interview<br>* Participants will be administered one battery of questionnaires that should take 50- 55 minutes, which may be broken down into two or more segments if necessary. They may choose to have these questionnaires administered to them in person at the hospital, in person at their home, or via telephone by a trained master's level research assistant.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| To determine the rate and levels of prolonged grief in young bereaved spouses/partners of cancer patients |  | conclusion of the study | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| To determine associations among prolonged grief, personality characteristics , previous trauma, & subjective meanings of the loss to the bereaved spouse in young bereaved spouses/partners of cancer |  | conclusion of the study | 
| To evaluate whether unique themes emerge among those reporting prolonged grief |  | conclusion of the study | 
| To evaluate whether unique themes emerge among those reporting obsessive and histrionic personality traits |  | conclusion of the study | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Young Bereaved Spouses