Taylor Tory M, Thurman Tonya R, Nogela Lineo
a Highly Vulnerable Children Research Center, School of Social Work , Tulane University , New Orleans , USA.
b UNFURL Human Capital Development , Bloemfontein , South Africa.
J Child Adolesc Ment Health. 2016 Jul;28(2):163-74. doi: 10.2989/17280583.2016.1210154.
To assess standard grief measures through cognitive interviews with bereaved adolescents in Free State, South Africa, and make recommendations designed to improve the measurement of grief in this and similar populations.
Twenty-one parentally bereaved adolescents participated in semi-structured cognitive interviews about the Core Bereavement Items (CBI) questionnaire, Grief Cognitions Questionnaire for Children (GCQ-C), or Intrusive Griefs Thoughts Scale (IGTS).
Interviewees offered valuable insights for improving grief measurement with this population (e.g., consensus that not thinking frequently about a deceased loved one was shameful, aversion to terms including "died"). Participants were better able to apply response options denoting specific frequencies (e.g., "once or twice a week") versus general ones (e.g., "a little bit of the time"). Questions intended to gauge grief commonly elicited responses reflecting the impact of loss on adolescents' basic survival instead of psychological wellbeing.
The need for psychological support is high among orphans and vulnerable children. Tools for measuring psychological outcomes can provide evidence of programme effects and guide decision making about investment. Grief measures used with adolescents in South Africa should account for the issues raised by cognitive interviewees in the study, including question and response option complexity, linguistic preferences, and cultural norms.
通过对南非自由邦失去亲人的青少年进行认知访谈，评估标准的悲伤测量方法，并提出旨在改进该群体及类似群体悲伤测量的建议。
21名失去双亲的青少年参与了关于核心丧亲项目（CBI）问卷、儿童悲伤认知问卷（GCQ-C）或侵入性悲伤思维量表（IGTS）的半结构化认知访谈。
受访者为改进该群体的悲伤测量提供了宝贵见解（例如，一致认为不经常想起已故亲人是可耻的，厌恶包括“死亡”在内的词汇）。与表示特定频率（如“每周一两次”）的回答选项相比，参与者更能应用表示一般频率（如“偶尔”）的回答选项。旨在评估悲伤的问题通常引发的回答反映了失去对青少年基本生存的影响，而非心理健康。
孤儿和弱势儿童对心理支持的需求很高。测量心理结果的工具可以提供项目效果的证据，并指导投资决策。在南非用于青少年的悲伤测量工具应考虑本研究中认知访谈受访者提出的问题，包括问题和回答选项的复杂性、语言偏好和文化规范。
