Prolonged grief disorder and its association with perceived social support and depression among university students after the death of a significant person

Al-Gamal, EA; Bin Saeed, S; Agnes, M; Long, T

Abstract

The response to loss through the death of a loved one may elicit emotional problems such as depression. Family, friends, significant others and academic staff have been considered to be the major sources of social support for university students. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between prolonged grief disorder, perceived social support and severity of depression among Saudi university students after the death of a significant person. A cross-sectional design was used to examine descriptive characteristics, correlational relationships, and statistical mean differences between male and female participants on PGD scores in a convenience sample of Saudi college students. Prolonged Grief Disorder (PG-13), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-IA) were completed by 226 Saudi undergraduate students. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Descriptive analysis and Pearson correlation coefficient were used. Student mean age was 20.73 years (SD=7.33), with 93 (41.2%) males and 133 (58.8%) females. One hundred (46.2%) students had experienced a major depressive episode with BDI-IA scores ≥10. Students reported moderate perceived social support from family, friends and significant person. Only 13 (5.8%) reported perceived support from academic staff. Students with the most prolonged grief disorder were the least well-supported and most depressed. The importance of support by friends, significant others and academic staff has been reported. In this study, few students reported receiving support from academics or social workers. The need for academic staff and social workers to provide more social support to grieving students is discussed.

Citation

Al-Gamal, E., Bin Saeed, S., Agnes, M., & Long, T. (2018). Prolonged grief disorder and its association with perceived social support and depression among university students after the death of a significant person. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 57(2), 44-51. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20181023-03

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 6, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Nov 1, 2018
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jul 17, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 20, 2018
• Journal: Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services
• Print ISSN: 0279-3695
• Electronic ISSN: 1938-2413
• Publisher: Slack
• Volume: 57
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 44-51
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20181023-03
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20181023-03
• Related Public URLs: https://www.healio.com/psychiatry/journals/jpn