Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-jbqgn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-21T13:36:41.508Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Hope, anxiety, PTSD and depression in COVID-19-bereaved family members

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

F. Franza*
Affiliation:
1Psychiatry, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centre Villa dei Pini, Avellino
A. Franza
Affiliation:
2Neuroscience, Neamente Association, MERCOGLIANO, Italy
A. De Paola
Affiliation:
2Neuroscience, Neamente Association, MERCOGLIANO, Italy
F. Papa
Affiliation:
2Neuroscience, Neamente Association, MERCOGLIANO, Italy
C. Esposito
Affiliation:
1Psychiatry, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centre Villa dei Pini, Avellino
B. Solomita
Affiliation:
1Psychiatry, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centre Villa dei Pini, Avellino
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Introduction

Sadness, nostalgia, deep discomfort, guilt and feelings of loss, hopelessness are just some of the emotions that overwhelm people who are experiencing the death of a loved one (Franza et al. Psychiatr Danub 2022; 34 (8) 60-63). The unusual mourning process in the time of COVID-19 challenges the usual process of coping with loss. The absence of the funeral rite and coping in time of COVID-19 affects the grieving process. The consequences of “bodiless” bereavement in survivors of people who died during the COVID-19 pandemic may be similar to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Spurio. Psychiatr Danub 2021; 33 (Suppl 9) 102-107).

Objectives

To evaluate the effects of the absence of the funeral rite on anxiety, depression, PTSD and hope in family members of people who have died from COVID-19.

Methods

In our observational study, 23 family members (12 females; 11 males; mean age: 48.56 yrs) who experienced a bereavement of a loved one without participation in funeral rites due to COVID-19 restrictions were recruited. They had turned to mental health professionals (psychiatrists and psychologists) as suffering from anxiety and depressive disorders. The subjects interviewed between the months of May 2020 and July 2020 (T0) were administered the following evaluation scales: Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Beck Depression Inventory -2 (BDI-II); Anxiety Zung, and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5).

The same scales were administered after 1 year (T1) and after two years (T2).

All the relevant data were analysed using EZAnalyze Version 3.0, Microsoft Excel Add-ln. Repeated Measures ANOVA Variables used for analyzing scales scores.

Results

The main results are shown in Table 1. High values of hopelessness, anxiety and depressive symptoms were observed in T0. The score was reduced in the following times. In BHS the ANOVA results indicate that at least two of the repeated measures differed significantly (P – Unadjusted: T0 and T2: .003, T1 and T2: .009; P – Bonferroni: T0 and T1: .009, T1 and T2: 0.28). Similar results were highlighted in the Zung and DBI-II scales. These results indicate high levels of anxiety and depression at the beginning of the observation period (T0). The results for the assessment of PTSD indicate statistically significant differences (P. .000, Eta Squared: .378).

Image:

Conclusions

Our little study evaluated some psychological factors in the emotional process of “normal” and complicated mourning. The loss of a loved one is inevitably an extremely painful event and is accompanied by a series of highly emotional experiential pathways. In the first months after death, family members have high levels of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. There is a need to deepen the study with a higher number of participants and with a comparison with “normal” bereavement

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.