Reports of the Death of Psychoeducation as a Preventative Treatment for Posttraumatic Psychological Distress are Exaggerated

A cross-sectional examination of sudden-death bereavement in university students

ObjectivesThe objective of this research was to determine the unique contributions of sudden death bereavement to the mental health of university students compared to non-sudden death bereaved university students. Methods: We surveyed 1047 bereaved university students (retention rate 92%) and compared the non-sudden death bereaved university student population to the sudden death bereaved university population on outcomes including mental health symptomatology, and complicated grief using logistic regressions. Results: Sixty two percent of the sample reported sudden death bereavement. There were no differences on measures of PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, suicidal ideation, and at-risk drinking behavior across types of bereavement. However, sudden death bereavement compared to general bereavement was associated with increased likelihood of complicated grief. Conclusions: Sudden death bereavement in university students is associated with elevated risk of complicated grief. These findings confirm previous research and provide more insight into the unique needs of university student coping with sudden loss.

The Survivor Moms’ Companion: Open Pilot of a Posttraumatic Stress Specific Psychoeducation Program for Pregnant Survivors of Childhood Maltreatment and Sexual Trauma

The Survivor Moms’ Companion (SMC) is a fully manualized, 10-module self-study psychoeducation program developed to address the pregnancy-specific needs of traumatic stress-affected abuse survivors. It aims to improve affect regulation, reduce interpersonal reactivity, and support posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom management despite the presence of triggers. An open pilot enrolled “survivor moms” prior to 28 weeks gestation and they completed baseline diagnostic telephone interviews, fidelity measures, pretest and posttest, and self-report measures assessing the efficacy of the proposed mechanisms of intervention effect. Of 57 eligible women invited to participate, 32 took up the intervention, 9 completed at least the core 4 modules, and 18 completed all 10 modules. Participant scores showed improvements in anger expression, interpersonal reactivity, and PTSD symptom management, suggesting that participation in the SMC is beneficial. Results will inform the protocol for a cluster randomized trial of the SMC.