Abstract
OBJECTIVE(S): Yearning, a hallmark of grief disorders, relates to rumination and potentially to cognitive avoidance. We developed an 8-item short form of the only existing validated yearning measure, the Yearning in Situations of Loss Scale (YSL), to improve its validity and administration ease.
METHOD: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted among bereaved Dutch (N = 313) and German (N = 235) community samples and an American treatment-seeking sample (N = 95). All samples completed the YSL, and community samples additionally measures of rumination, loss-related avoidance, complicated grief (CG), and depression.
RESULTS: A one-factor model provided a good fit to the YSL Short Form (YSL-SF) in the community samples. A two-factor structure (cognitive and emotional yearning)best fitted the YSL-SF in the treatment-seeking sample. YSL-SF scores correlated positively with rumination, loss-related avoidance, and with CG symptoms whilst controlling for rumination and loss-related avoidance.
CONCLUSION: The YSL-SF appears an easy-to-administer and valid measure of yearning after bereavement.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1995-2014 |
| Journal | Journal of Clinical Psychology |
| Volume | 76 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2020 |
Keywords
- emotion
- longing
- persistent complex bereavement disorder
- prolonged grief disorder
- questionnaire
- reliability
- scale
- validity