Attachment--and loss.

Emotion and Adaptation

Interest in meaning and meaning making in the context of stressful life events continues to grow, but research is hampered by conceptual and methodological limitations. Drawing on current theories, the author first presents an integrated model of meaning making. This model distinguishes between the constructs of global and situational meaning and between "meaning-making efforts" and "meaning made," and it elaborates subconstructs within these constructs. Using this model, the author reviews the empirical research regarding meaning in the context of adjustment to stressful events, outlining what has been established to date and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of current empirical work. Results suggest that theory on meaning and meaning making has developed apace, but empirical research has failed to keep up with these developments, creating a significant gap between the rich but abstract theories and empirical tests of them. Given current empirical findings, some aspects of the meaning-making model appear to be well supported but others are not, and the quality of meaning-making efforts and meanings made may be at least as important as their quantity. This article concludes with specific suggestions for future research.

Making Sense of the Meaning Literature: An Integrative Review of Meaning Making and Its Effects on Adjustment to Stressful Life Events.

The Seasons of a Man’s Life

Bereavement is a severe stressor that typically incites painful and debilitating symptoms of acute grief that commonly progresses to restoration of a satisfactory, if changed, life. Normally, grief does not need clinical intervention. However, sometimes acute grief can gain a foothold and become a chronic debilitating condition called complicated grief. Moreover, the stress caused by bereavement, like other stressors, can increase the likelihood of onset or worsening of other physical or mental disorders. Hence, some bereaved people need to be diagnosed and treated. A clinician evaluating a bereaved person is at risk for both over-and under-diagnosis, either pathologizing a normal condition or neglecting to treat an impairing disorder. The authors of DSM IV focused primarily on the problem of over-diagnosis, and omitted complicated grief because of insufficient evidence. We revisit bereavement considerations in light of new research findings. This article focuses primarily on a discussion of possible inclusion of a new diagnosis and dimensional assessment of complicated grief. We also discuss modifications in the bereavement V code and refinement of bereavement exclusions in major depression and other disorders.

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Complicated grief and related bereavement issues for DSM‐5

Correction: Prolonged Grief Disorder: Psychometric Validation of Criteria Proposed for DSM-V and ICD-11

A number of studies have demonstrated that attractive students receive more positive ratings from teachers (1) and are less severely disciplined for classroom transgressions (2). Recently, this paradigm was varied by studying the effects of students' race along w~th physical attractiveness (3). Student teachers judged misbehaviors of black studena more severely than those of white students, regardless of attractiveness while practicing teachers judged misbehaviors of attractive students more severely than those of unattractive students, regardless of race. From these data, it cannot be determined whether this discrepancy results from a change in teaching role or from other variables. The present study investigates this by readministering the instrument (3) to those 27 females and 5 males from the original 54 female and 6 male student teachers who had become employed as teachers. Each received the same materials depicting the same classroom transgression committed by the same attractive or unattractive black or white student as had been previously received. It was hypothesized that a shift from bias along racial lines to bias along attractiveness lines would parallel the shift in role from student to practicing teacher. Data were analyzed by a 2 X 2 x 3 (Student Race x Attractiveness x Time) analysis of variance with the repeated measure Time being pre, post, and 1-yr. following student teaching. The dependent measure was the sum of judgments of 15 classroom transgressions (3). A significant interaction of race x attractiveness was noted (K.3 = 6.88, p = .01), with unattractive black students being judged significantly more severely and attractive black students judged significantly less severely than any of the ocher three categories, and with no differences between the intermediate attractive and unattractive white students. Instead of supporting the hypothesized shift from bias by race to bias by attractiveness, these results support Marwit, et al.'s (3) original contention that transgressions of unattractive students will be rated more severely than those of attractive students and that chis tendency will be most pronounced for blacks. Reexamination of Marwit, et al.'s (3) earlier data indicated a strong tendency among student teachers toward the same interaction of race X attractiveness, which had unfortunately not been reported because the p < .OG but not < .05. This ascribes added importance to the current findings and brings both sets of data more in line with the larger body of physical attractiveness literature.

Students' Race, Physical Attractiveness and Teachers' Judgments of Transgressions: Follow-up and Clarification

This study examined the degree to which an individual's propensity to experience emotional distress and restraint are predictive of grief intensity in a sample of older widow(er)s (N = 51). Charact...

Personality and Conjugal Bereavement in Older Widow(er)s

Seventy-seven female and 86 male psychologist practitioners filled out the Bem Sex Rote Inventory to describe either a healthy adult male, healthy adult female, or healthy adult, sex unspecified. Analyzing the data according to Bem's classification of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny produced a significant Scale X Condition interaction with male and female practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine than feminine traits to healthy adult men, yet displaying no comparable differences when rating healthy adult women. Analyzing the data according to Spence's classification of masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated produced a Group X Condition interaction with practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine traits to healthy adult men and significantly more feminine traits to healthy adult women. Reanalyses omitting "masculine" and "feminine" from Bem's fist of sex-typed traits produced nonsignificant results. The relationship of this to recent criticisms of the construct validity of the BSRI and to the validity of earlier results of therapist sex-role bias was discussed.

Assessment of sex-role stereotyping among male and female psychologist practitioners.

Limited research has explored the measurement of forgiveness among middle-aged and older wives. Recall of past trangressions can lead to “damaging ruminations” that jeopardize one's spiritual peace (Callaby, Coleman, & Mills, 2012) and emotional well-being, making forgiveness more important. This online study examined the utility of the Enright Forgiveness Inventory (EFI) (Subkoviak et al., 1995) within a sample of 67 women. Participants completed the EFI, measures of religious coping, depression, anger, anxiety, and marital satisfaction. The EFI demonstrated sound psychometric properties. Forgiveness scores were inversely related to all constructs except religious coping, with which there was no significant relationship. Implications for future research are discussed.

Samuel J. Marwit

Papers

Correction: Prolonged Grief Disorder: Psychometric Validation of Criteria Proposed for DSM-V and ICD-11

Students' Race, Physical Attractiveness and Teachers' Judgments of Transgressions: Follow-up and Clarification

Personality and Conjugal Bereavement in Older Widow(er)s

Assessment of sex-role stereotyping among male and female psychologist practitioners.

Extension of the Enright Forgiveness Inventory to Middle‐Aged and Older Wives