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Human Remains Identification, Grief, and Posttraumatic Stress in Bereaved Family Members 14 Years After the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks
Author(s) -
Cozza Stephen J.,
Fisher Joscelyn E.,
Hefner Kathryn R.,
Fetchet Mary A.,
Chen Shenglin,
Zuleta Rafael F.,
Fullerton Carol S.,
Ursano Robert J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.22548
Subject(s) - grief , posttraumatic stress , complicated grief , receipt , traumatic grief , medicine , terrorism , psychiatry , psychology , clinical psychology , history , archaeology , world wide web , computer science
Returning human remains to family members after a loved one's death is thought to support grief adaptation. However, no known research has examined the effects that notifications of fragmented remains have on bereaved family members. We examined the number of notifications received, continuing questions about the death, grief severity, and posttraumatic stress (PTS) in family members bereaved by the September 11, 2001 attacks ( N = 454). One notification was associated with fewer continuing questions compared to zero notifications, p = .037, or two or more notifications, p = .009. A model using notifications and continuing questions to predict grief severity showed there was no difference between receiving one and zero notifications, p = .244; however, receipt of two or more notifications was associated with higher grief severity compared to zero notifications, p = .032. A similar model demonstrated that receipt of any notifications was associated with PTS, ɳ p 2 = .026, p = .006. Having continuing questions was associated with grief severity, ɳ p 2 = .170, p < .001; and PTS, ɳ p 2 = .086, p < .001. Additionally, participants who received one notification and chose not to receive more had fewer continuing questions compared to all other participants, and participants who received two or more notifications and chose no future notifications had higher PTS levels compared to all other participants. The results indicate that human remains notification is not associated with reduced grief severity but is associated with PTS. These findings should inform notification policy and guide families’ notification choice after traumatic deaths.