Predicting Comforting Quality in the Context of Miscarriage

Abstract

The current study examines influences on the quality of comforting messages directed at parents bereaved by miscarriage. College students (N = 182) wrote comforting messages for a hypothetical older sibling distressed by a miscarriage at three different times subsequent to the loss and completed measures assessing experience with pregnancy loss and cognitive complexity. Results showed that support providers’ experience with pregnancy loss, gender, and cognitive complexity, along with time since the loss, predicted comforting quality. Findings are discussed with respect to implications for theory and application.