Anticipatory Grief, Proactive Coping, Social Support, and Growth: Exploring Positive Experiences of Preparing for Loss:
All mental health professionals will inevitably serve clients who face the expected death of a loved one. Prominent theories on the grieving process tend to begin after a death or other loss has occurred. Many individuals experience anticipatory grief prior to the physical death. Participants in this study consisted of 120 adults who were anticipating the death of a loved one due to terminal illness. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the relationship between the positive disposition of proactive coping and two forms of growth. Both personal and posttraumatic growth were present to a significant degree, and proactive coping illustrated unique predictive power in personal growth. Social support was a significant mediator of proactive coping and growth and was determined to be an outcome of the assertive nature of this disposition. Implications for helping professionals who serve anticipatory grievers as well as directions for future research are discussed.
The explanatory style scores of George Bush and Saddam Hussein were derived using the content analysis of verbatim explanations technique for periods preceding military actions or political conflict These leaders' actions were rated on scales of aggression-passivity and risk-caution Regression and correlational analyses show that increased levels of optimism before conflict predicted heightened aggression and risk taking, whereas increased levels of pessimism prior to an event predicted passivity and caution