Document Type : Scientific Research
Authors
1 Professor. Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Alzahra University, Tehran. Iran.
2 M.Sc. in Psychology. Payame Noor University, Tehran. Iran
Abstract
Objective: The aim of the present study was to predict complicated grief based on cognitive flexibility with the mediating role of cognitive regulation of emotion in survivors of the COVID-19.
Method: This descriptive study was fundamental-applicative and correlation type with path analysis in terms of method. The statistical population included all the bereaved people who lost one of their close relatives or family members due to the corona virus since 2018 to 1400. Therefore 200 survivors and mourners formed the research sample.
Three questionnaires included cognitive-emotional regulation by Garnevsky et al. (2009), cognitive flexibility by Dennis Vonderwall (2010), and grief experience by Barrett and Scott (1998) were used and completed online by the participants. SPSS-26 software was used to analyze statistical correlation relationships and Imus software version 24 was used to evaluate the achievement of the fitted model.
Results: The results showed that the direct effect of cognitive flexibility with beta coefficient on compromised strategies is positive (Beta=0.655), and on uncompromised strategies (Beta=-0.628) and the experience of bereavement (Beta=-0.387) is negative and significant (P<01.1). Also, the direct effect of emotion-cognitive compromise strategies with the standard coefficient on bereavement experience (Beta=0.254) is positively significant and the adaptive cognitive strategies of emotion are negatively significant on the experience of bereavement (Beta=-0.327).The correlation coefficient between the variables showed that cognitive flexibility has a positive correlation with emotional cognitive strategies (r=0.66) and a negative correlation with bereavement experience (r=-0.75) and a negative correlation with non-compromised emotional cognitive strategies (P<0.1). In other words, as survivors' cognitive flexibility increases, their mourning decreases. Also, the experience of bereavement is more in the survivors who use non-compromised strategies of emotional cognition (r=0/66) and less in those who use compromised cognitive strategies of emotion (r=-0.71).The results of the Bootstrap test for indirect ways showed that the indirect way of cognitive flexibility to the experience of bereavement with the mediating role of cognitive regulation of uncompromising emotion has an effect size -0.14, as well as the indirect way of cognitive flexibility to the experience of bereavement with the mediating role of cognitive regulation of compromising emotion has an effect size-0.18, that is significant at the level of less than 0.05.
Conclusion: Cognitive regulation of emotion has a mediating role between cognitive flexibility and bereavement experience of survivors. In general, the use of cognitive regulation of uncompromised emotion enhances the experience of bereavement and the use of cognitive regulation of compromised emotion reduces it. There is a significant negative relationship between cognitive flexibility and bereavement experience of corona survivors. There is a significant negative relationship between the dimensions of cognitive flexibility and the dimensions of uncompromising cognitive emotion regulation strategies of corona survivors. Also, cognitive flexibility has a significant effect on the complex grief of corona survivors through the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation. In complicated grief caused by events such as Covid-19, various psychological and cognitive factors such as cognitive flexibility, cognitive regulation of emotion are involved, and psychotherapists, especially cognitive-behavioral therapists, should pay attention to these issues and focus on the positive factors influencing the reduction of complex bereavement and the treatment process.
Due to the lack of funeral rituals and traditional mourning interactions which play an important role in facilitating the mourning process, the levels of resolving the painful emotions become more difficult. Greater flexibility will allow individuals to focus more on alternative ways of cognitive changes, therefore, in traumatic situations and psychological distress, they will have better control over their emotions.
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