Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Fowler, Jr., Kenneth Earl
Author's Email Address	kfowler@systemiceffects.com
URN	etd-07102006-140024
Title	The Relationship Between Self Reported Trauma, Complicated Grief, and Depression Among College Students
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Family and Child Sciences, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Charles R. Figley, Ph.D. Committee Chair Ann Mullis, Ph.D. Committee Member Mary Hicks, Ph.D. Committee Member Maxine Jones, Ph.D. Committee Member Sally Karioth Committee Member
Keywords	Traumatic Grief Grief And Loss Depression Trauma Complicated Grief
Date of Defense	2006-04-27
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Background. Grief is considered complicated when symptoms are found to predict long-term functional impairments resulting in a failure to return to pre-loss performance levels (Prigerson, Frank, et al. 1995). Objective. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between self reported trauma, complicated grief, and depression among college students. Limitations. The study of the relationship between loss of a loved one, complicated grief and depression may be an indicator of a relation to other psychological and physiological disorders. The use of self-disclosure instruments to determine grief states is a design flaw because respondents in certain stages of grief may be in denial or do not realize their difficulty with grief issues. Method. The study group consisted of 144 college students from a large southeastern university. Complicated grief was measured using the Inventory of Complicated Grief-Revised (ICG-R), and depression was assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Outcomes were assessed by self-report and analyzed using chi-square tests, Fisher Exact tests, ANOVAs, and regression analyses to determine the significance of the relationships among variables. Results. Depression was found to be a predictor of complicated grief, traumatic distress, and the number of months of disturbing feelings since the loss. Impairment was found to be a predictor of depression, separation distress and traumatic distress. The regression analyses indicated that students with a traumatic loss of six months ago or longer accounted for the significance of depression as a predictor of traumatic distress. Implications. Complicated grief is a phenomenon that clinicians should be knowledgeable of and possess the proficiency to provide appropriate intervention. Traumatic distress and impairment were found to be highly correlated with depression. Conclusion. Trauma, complicated grief, and depression are positively correlated and all serve as predictors of impairment.
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