Figures of grief: metaphors from a bereavement writing group

In a community-based bereavement writing group, patterns of metaphor emerged and helped the group members identify and deal with particularly challenging aspects of death and grief, including taboo subjects such as abuse and suicide. The metaphors show how a bereavement writing group functioned to address the needs of people coping with different kinds of grief effectively and efficiently. Analysis of the specific metaphors suggests why figurative language enabled the group to bond quickly and strongly, delve into the complex emotions death elicits, and integrate experiences of loss and grief safely and productively. The patterns of metaphors the group produced in their writing about death and grief are discussed in terms of bereavement processes, and the topics the group used to elicit the figures of speech are presented for further refinement and use.     

A Typology of Consumers' Emotional Response Styles during Service Recovery Encounters*

Previous efforts investigating consumers' response styles during service failure and recovery encounters have focused on behavioural elements and, by and large, neglected the important issue of emotions elicited in this context. The present study uses experienced emotions during service recovery encounters as a way of classifying complainants and links the resultant typology to the relationship quality indicators of satisfaction, trust and commitment. By doing so, it serves as an empirically grounded basis for subsequently deriving strategies and tactics for successful recovery from service failures. The results reveal four distinct emotional response styles which are associated with perceptions of relationship quality following service recovery encounters. Managerial implications of the findings are discussed and future research directions identified.     

Problematic emotions and maternal grief

The study was an empirical examination of the relation of personality proneness to "problematic social emotions"--envy (Dispositional Envy Scale), jealousy (Interpersonal Jealousy Scale), and shame and guilt (Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2)--to maternal grief (Perinatal Grief Scale-33) following miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, or infant/child death. The 441 women who participated in the study were enrolled from the Website, e-mail contact lists, and parent support groups of an organization that offers information and support to bereaved parents. All four problematic emotions were positively correlated with maternal grief. Envy, jealousy, and guilt made significant unique contributions to the variance in maternal grief. Overall, time lapse since the loss and the four problematic emotion predispositions explained 43% of the variance in maternal grief following child bereavement.     

Adolescent grief: relationship category and emotional closeness

Bereaved adolescents (N = 90) who had experienced relatively common death losses (e.g., grandparent, friend) completed the Texas Revised Inventory of Grief and the Emotional Closeness Scale and Continuum. Results indicated that present grief was significantly higher for friend than for grandparent death loss. A MANOVA revealed that those in the high closeness group reported significantly higher mean scores on past and present grief than those in the low closeness group. Finally, in a hierarchal multiple regression, after demographic variables were entered (e.g., age, present at death), emotional closeness added significant variance to the prediction of past and present grief. This research contributes to the understanding of grief intensity following adolescents' most common death losses and highlights the importance of counselors' intentionally and directly assessing bereaved adolescents' perceived emotional closeness to the deceased as part of grief-related counseling.     

Risk Perception of the "Mad Cow Disease" in France: Determinants and Consequences

Since 1996, when bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was assessed as a possible human transmissible disease, a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), French people have entered into a long period of fear and avoidance of beef and bovine byproducts, which produced an unprecedented collapse in the beef market. This article deals with the perceived risk of the "mad cow disease" (MCD) in the French general population. Two surveys were conducted on a representative sample of the adult population, the first one in 2000 during the peak of the crisis and the second one 13 months later in a quieter period. The main assumption we made was that changes in beef consumption are strongly related to the perceived risk of MCD, which we defined as people's cognitive and affective responses to hazard. Our objective was to identify the determinants and consequences of this perceived risk and to compare them in different sociopolitical contexts. The results issued from a bivariate and multivariate analysis show that: (i) the distribution of most of the variables significantly related to the perceived risk identified in the first survey had changed in the second survey, in relation with the reduction of worry and the resumption of national beef consumption; (ii) the propensity for self-protection through avoiding or ceasing beef eating was more related to feelings of worry than to subjective vCJD risk assessments; and (iii) the main determinant of less avoidance to beef products was the preference for beef, a feeling identified prior to emergence of the risk of MCD, remaining unchanged in various contexts.     

The grief involved in change

In this era of rapid change, people need to be helped through the grieving process at work. "By acknowledging and articulating what is involved, you facilitate people's movement through it ... successful people in growing organizations need to learn to move through the process as quickly and efficiently as possible and help others do the same." Morris Shectman, in Working Without a Net says, "Contrary to the old paradigm--which held that others don't have a right to know about your personal life--the new paradigm says that it's a necessity that they know." If people are to move through the grief that is caused by undesired change, they will have to tell some of their personal feelings. "Each stage of the process--shock and denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance--is functional ... when people go through the process in a healthy manner, they'll recycle through it in a diluted fashion." Leaders in the organization can help people start the process or move through it if they get stuck at a particular stage.     

Introducing the 3-A grief intervention model for dementia caregivers: acknowledge, assess and assist

With our aging population, it is estimated that in the near future there will be an overwhelming increase in the number of individuals dealing with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia (ADRD). From the time that symptoms begin to insidiously emerge, it can take well over ten years for the disease to run its course. In addition to the crippling effect for those inflicted, this lengthy duration can have an ongoing debilitating effect on the family members who are grieving while providing care. Researchers have claimed that the manner in which family members experience and manage their grief reactions to the pre-death losses can influence both caregiving outcomes and adjustment to bereavement once those with the disease have died. Given the relevance of grief management, this article provides answers to such questions as: How do family caregivers of individuals with ADRD manifest their grief? How can healthcare professionals intervene in assisting with grief management? The answers are provided introducing the 3-A grief intervention model for family caregivers of individuals with ADRD. The 3-A model enfranchises the caregiver grief experience through Acknowledging, Assessing, and Assisting in grief management. In doing so, different grieving styles are identified and the role that denial and respite plays in adapting to the family caregiver's grief experience is recognized. Clinical strategies to assist in grief management are also provided.     

基于顾客自我调整导向的差异化服务补救策略研究

已有的服务补救研究认为服务补救应该和服务失败匹配,没有深入探讨顾客心理差异对补救效果的影响。本文提出服务补救应和顾客特征相匹配,从"自我调整导向"角度区分顾客的心理特征,研究顾客的个体差异对服务补救效果的影响。服务补救方式被区分为"多获利"型和"少损失"型两类;顾客的自我调整导向有"趋利"和"避害"之分。本文选取餐馆行业,采用实验方法考察顾客的自我调整导向与补救努力的交互作用对顾客感知的补救绩效和补救满意的影响。通过多因素协方差分析研究发现,当补救努力与顾客的自我调整导向一致时,顾客的感知补救绩效更高,对补救更加满意;对于"趋利"导向的顾客,"多获利"型补救方式效果更好;对于"避害"导向的顾客,"少损失"型补救方式更加有效。     

The grief experiences of certified nursing assistants: personal growth and complicated grief

The grief that certified nursing assistants (CNAs) experience following the deaths of nursing home residents has received scant attention in past research, particularly from an empirical standpoint. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the grief experiences of CNAs in the nursing home setting and to identify and evaluate factors that may mediate or exacerbate grief. Participants (N=136) from 12 nursing homes completed self-administered surveys. Regression analyses revealed that CNAs with lower levels of perceived disenfranchised grief reported higher levels of personal growth, while CNAs with greater fear of death and those who experienced fewer deaths on the job reported higher levels of complicated grief. Practitioners and future researchers may benefit from these findings through the construction and implementation of interventions aimed at effectively enfranchising the grief experiences of this important group of healthcare workers.     

Identity Work and Emotions: A Review

This paper reviews the empirical literature on identity work and identifies two distinct approaches to incorporating emotion. The majority of empirical studies use emotion to describe the experiences of identity work. In doing so, the authors (a) mention the emotions that people feel in situations that trigger identity work, (b) illustrate identity work as an emotional endeavour, and (c) describe the emotional impact of successful and unsuccessful identity work. There is also an emerging literature that examines the mutual constitution of emotions and identity work. These authors address emotional labour, affective social identification, emotional attachment and detachment, and humour when studying identity work. This paper suggests that, to understand better the relation between emotions and identity work, future research should examine the role of emotions in problematizing identity, the emotional constitution of the identity work experience, the intersection of emotions and other ways of knowing the self, and the links between emotions and power in identity work.     

Perception of Mobile Phone and Base Station Risks

Perceptions of risks associated with mobile phones, base stations, and other sources of electromagnetic fields (EMF) were examined. Data from a telephone survey conducted in the German- and French-speaking parts of Switzerland are presented (N = 1,015). Participants assessed both risks and benefits associated with nine different sources of EMF. Trust in the authorities regulating these hazards was assessed as well. In addition, participants answered a set of questions related to attitudes toward EMF and toward mobile phone base stations. According to respondents' assessments, high-voltage transmission lines are the most risky source of EMF. Mobile phones and mobile phone base stations received lower risk ratings. Results showed that trust in authorities was positively associated with perceived benefits and negatively associated with perceived risks. People who use their mobile phones frequently perceived lower risks and higher benefits than people who use their mobile phones infrequently. People who believed they lived close to a base station did not significantly differ in their level of risks associated with mobile phone base stations from people who did not believe they lived close to a base station. Regarding risk regulation, a majority of participants were in favor of fixing limiting values based on the worst-case scenario. Correlations suggest that belief in paranormal phenomena is related to level of perceived risks associated with EMF. Furthermore, people who believed that most chemical substances cause cancer also worried more about EMF than people who did not believe that chemical substances are that harmful. Practical implications of the results are discussed.     

Low patient satisfaction scores: the five stages of response

When faced with poor patient satisfaction scores, emergency department physicians and medical directors have similar reactions. Ironically, the emotions experienced mimic the stages of grief.     

Emotions and their management during a merger in Brunei

Studies have shown that the emotional impact of mergers influences employees' attitudes to change as well as more distal post-merger outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment and withdrawal. Understanding the role of emotions during mergers can therefore provide insights into why major change produces varying outcomes. This study presents findings from a qualitative study examining the emotional impact of a merger between two banking institutions on managers in Brunei. The distinctive national culture representing a fusion of Malay and Islamic values was found to influence the emotional impact of this merger. These values place less emphasis on personal control as a means for dealing with uncertainty. The findings suggest that Western transactional models of perceived control to explain how people manage change may have far more limited application within a Bruneian context.     

The Role of Emotions in Risk Communication

We present two experiments investigating the role of emotions concerning technological and natural hazards. In the first experiment, technological hazards aroused stronger emotions, and were considered to be riskier than natural hazards. No differences were found between the texts versus audio presentations. However, the presence of pictures aroused stronger emotions and increased the perceived risk. Emotions play a mediating role between hazard types and perceived risk, as well as between pictures and perceived risk. The second experiment adopted real‐world materials from webpages and TV. Emotions again play a mediating role between pictorial information and risk perception. Moreover, specific emotions were found to be associated with different types of action tendencies. For example, loss‐based emotions (e.g., fear, regret) tend to lead to prevention strategies, whereas ethical emotions (e.g., anger) lead to aggressive behavior. We also find that loss‐based emotions in the technical hazard scenario trigger more coping strategies (from prevention to retaliation) than in the natural hazard scenario.     

When altruism fails: reactions of unrelated bone marrow donors when the recipient dies

This article examines the responses of bone marrow donors to the death of the unrelated person to whom they donated. Data analyzed were 330 questionnaires and fifty in-depth interviews collected from donors in the National Marrow Donor Program at one year post-donation. Death of the recipient produced feelings of guilt and responsibility in the donors in only a few cases (2% of donors from questionnaire data and 2 of the 23 donors interviewed). Grief occurred often (22 of 23 donors interviewed) and was often surprisingly intense, given the fact that the recipient was a stranger. Intensity of grief varied depending on the perceived relationship with the recipient. Our data indicate that limiting contact and/or information about the recipient to the donor would be unlikely to result in more positive psychosocial outcomes. However, several strategies which might be useful in relieving donor guilt and/or grief are suggested.     

Risk Communication,Public Engagement,and Climate Change: A Role for Emotions

This article discusses the potential role that emotions might play in enticing a lifestyle that diminishes climate change. Climate change is an important challenge for society. There is a growing consensus that climate change is due to our behavior, but few people are willing to significantly adapt their lifestyle. Empirical studies show that people lack a sense of urgency: they experience climate change as a problem that affects people in distant places and in a far future. Several scholars have claimed that emotions might be a necessary tool in communication about climate change. This article sketches a theoretical framework that supports this hypothesis, drawing on insights from the ethics of risk and the philosophy of emotions. It has been shown by various scholars that emotions are important determinants in risk perception. However, emotions are generally considered to be irrational states and are hence excluded from communication and political decision making about risky technologies and climate change, or they are used instrumentally to create support for a position. However, the literature on the ethics of risk shows that the dominant, technocratic approach to risk misses the normative‐ethical dimension that is inherent to decisions about acceptable risk. Emotion research shows that emotions are necessary for practical and moral decision making. These insights can be applied to communication about climate change. Emotions are necessary for understanding the moral impact of the risks of climate change, and they also paradigmatically provide for motivation. Emotions might be the missing link in effective communication about climate change.     

Perinatal loss: a qualitative study in Northern Ireland

This article describes the experiences of women in Northern Ireland who have experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth. Pregnancy loss encompasses several dimensions of loss for women, loss of the future, loss of self-identity, and the loss of anticipated parenthood. The study explored how women emotionally responded to loss and the care they received from medical staff. Burial arrangements for the remains of the baby are also explored. The methodology adopted a narrative approach based upon in-depth interviews with 23 women who attended pregnancy loss self-help groups. The women's narratives highlight their emotional responses to loss, the medicalization of perinatal grief, and burial arrangements. Women felt that their experience was emotionally negative in that they had been subjected to a rationalizing process of medicalization. The primary focus for the women was on the need to recover space for their emotions and seek acceptance and recognition of the validity of their grief. The study demonstrated that the women's response to being marginalized led them to make sense of their experiences and to create spaces of resistance to medicalization. The way in which women placed emotion at the center of their narratives is taken to be a powerful indicator that the support they require from professionals should take account of the meanings they have constructed from their experience of loss.     

认知反应理论视角下领导幽默触发下属积极情绪的跨层研究

从认知反应理论的视角,基于43名团队主管和317名下属的配对数据,揭示领导幽默触发下属积极情绪的内在机制。研究结果表明:领导幽默能有效触发下属的积极情绪,并且只有通过被下属感知的领导幽默才能对下属积极情绪产生间接作用;下属的幽默喜好能增强其感知的领导幽默对积极情绪的预测效度;下属的幽默元信息敏感度并不能强化领导幽默对其感知的领导幽默的驱动有效性。     

The fundamental paradox in the grief literature: a critical reflection

A key theme in the bereavement literature is the recognition that every grief experience is unique and dependent on many variables, such as the circumstances of the death, characteristics of the bereaved individual, their relationship with the deceased, the provision and availability of support, and a myriad of sociocultural factors. Concurrently, there are corresponding efforts to define "normal" grief and delineate it from "complicated" grief experiences. The discord between these two potentially opposing statements remains a paradox evident within the three major tensions within the thanatological literature--the dominance of grief theories, the medicalization of grief, and the efficacy of grief interventions. Three recommendations for moving beyond the paradox are discussed--the provision of improved grief education for service providers, the bereaved, and the wider community; the conduct of research that emphasizes the context of grief and is relevant to service provision; and the examination of current grief interventions.