Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 4-1996 Perinatal Loss: An Exposure Based Approach to Alleviating Feelings of Grief in Bereaved Parents Michele Lee Rosa Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Counseling Psychology Commons, and the Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons Recommended Citation Rosa, Michele Lee, "Perinatal Loss: An Exposure Based Approach to Alleviating Feelings of Grief in Bereaved Parents" (1996). Dissertations. 1704. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1704 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PERINATAL LOSS: AN EXPOSURE BASED APPROACH TO ALLEVIATING FEELINGS OF GRIEF IN BEREAVED PARENTS by Michele Lee Rosa A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Psychology Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan April 1996 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PERINATAL LOSS: AN EXPOSURE BASED APPROACH TO ALLEVIATING FEELINGS OF GRIEF IN BEREAVED PARENTS Michele Lee Rosa, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 1996 The efficacy of exposing bereaved parents to stimuli associated with their deceased child as a means of alleviating their grief reaction was explored. Three parents who had suffered a perinatal loss participated. Pre, post, and follow-up measures of depression, hopelessness, anxiety, marital functioning, daily stress, psychopathology, bereavement and grief were gathered. Results showed clinically significant improvement for two of the three sub­ jects on measures of depression and psychopathology. All subjects showed im­ proved marital functioning. Negative change was seen on a measure of hopeless­ ness for two of the three subjects. The treatment effects for symptoms of stress, anxiety, bereavement and grief were mixed. Subjective reports from the parents provided support for the utility of the intervention. Implications for medical and mental health care providers involved in the care of parents following a perinatal loss are discussed. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type o f computer printer. 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Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION In loving memory of Anthony J. Giacomo (1902-1996) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the many who contributed to the completion of this dissertation. First, to the members of my committee, Drs. M. Michele Burnette, Galen Alessi, Patricia Meinhold, and Kevin Armstrong. I extend my sincere appreciation for their guidance and support. Second, to my immediate family members who continuously provided both emotional and monetary support, as well as encouragement: my father, Charles M. Rosa; my mother, Dolores A. Rosa (Giacomo); and my younger sister, Gina M. Rosa. I thank my entire extended family for their willingness to share in my educational experiences. Third, to the faculty members at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan (especially, Drs. Marcia Gilroy, Arthur Robin and Joseph Fischoff), The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (especially, Dr. C. Eugene Walker) and The Children’s Hospital of Oklahoma (especially, Drs. Heather Huszti and Ruphert Nitschke), I thank you for your encouragement and permission to collect dissertation data while also completing my internship and fellowship requirements. Finally, I thank my high school English teacher, Ms. Maureen Carney (Sauber). Because of her dedication to teaching and her insistence that students write properly, with organization and with style, I have had to endure minimal criticism of my writing abilities. Michele Lee Rosa ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................1 Causes of Perinatal L oss ..................................................................... 1 The Impact of Perinatal Loss ............................................................3 Treatment Issues ..................................................................................10 II. M E T H O D ..................................................................................................... 19 Subjects ........................................................... 19 Characteristics and History ....................................................... 19 Recruitment ................................................................................. 20 Setting .................................................................................................. 20 M aterials.........................................................................................21 P ro ced u re ..............................................................................................25 Design ........................................................................................... 25 Experimental Sessions.................................................................25 F ollow -up ...................................................................................... 27 Scoring and Analysis.......................................................................... 27 III. RESULTS .....................................................................................................30 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents-Continued CHAPTER D ep ressio n ........................................................................................... 30 Hopelessness.........................................................................................31 Psychopathology ..................................................................................32 Daily Stress .............................................................................33 Maternal Bereavement ......................................................................33 Grief .....................................................................................................36 A nxiety...................................................................................................37 Marital Relations ............................................................................... 38 SU D S-L evel....................................................... ..........................40 Participant Report .............................................................................42 IV. DISCUSSION ............................................................................................45