Examining the Assumptive World Views of Parents Bereaved by Accident, Murder, and Illness

Abstract

The present study examines the impact of various types of loss on the assumptive world views of bereaved parents. The World Assumptions Scale (WAS) and the Revised Grief Experience Inventory were administered to 135 parents bereaved by homicide ( N = 64), accident ( N = 37), and illness ( N = 34), and to non-bereaved control parents ( N = 30). Bereaved parents held more negative views of the benevolence of the world and reported lower self-worth. No differences were found on the meaningfulness of the world dimension. Parents bereaved by unexpected deaths (homicides and accidents) demonstrated more negative views on benevolence than parents bereaved by expected deaths (illnesses). Parents bereaved by homicide demonstrated the lowest sense of self-worth. Parents bereaved by fatal illness demonstrated the most negative meaningfulness scores. WAS scores were highly predictive of grief intensity; the gender of the deceased child and amount of time elapsed since death were not. Results were compared to earlier findings, and clinical implications are discussed herein.