The influence of personality type and sense of coherence on coping with bereavement

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Due to the far-reaching effects of bereavement on the psychological, physical andemotional levels, this study was designed to identify the personality types that areconducive with coping and non-coping characteristics of the bereavement experience.This study examines Jung's attitudes of Introversion and Extraversion and hisfunctions of Sensing, Intuition, Thinking and Feeling to determine which are moreconducive with coping and non-coping bereavement behaviour. The role that Senseof Coherence plays in the coping and non-coping characteristics in the bereavementprocess was also examined.Personality type is a construct developed by Carl Jung to explain some of theapparently random differences in human behaviour. Recognising the existence ofthese types, Jung's theory provides an explanation of how these types develop. Thedifferent types are the result of the different ways in which individuals prefer to usetheir mind.The Salutogenic approach and Generalised Resistance Resource, developed byAntonovsky, is the building block from which the eventual development of the Senseof Coherence concept is based. Sense of Coherence is comprised of three componentsnamely: comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. The degree to whichthese components are presented in one's life determines an individual's globalorientation to life. The Texas Revised Inventory of Grief (Faschingbauer, Zisook, & De Vaul, 1987),Singer-Loomis Type Deployment Inventory (Singer, Loomis, Kirkhart & Kirkhart,1996) and the Sense of Coherence scale (Antonovsky, 1987) were completed bytwenty-seven individuals (n=27) who recently lost a loved one due to terminal illnessor anticipated death. The results of the study were processed and analysed by meansof ANOVAS. Because of the small sample size, use was made of the bootstrapmethod to optimise results.Analysis of the data showed that coping individuals displayed a significant preferencefor feeling, judging and a high level of sense of coherence, whilst non-copingindividuals showed preferences for intuition, perceiving and low level of sense ofcoherence. No significant difference was found for introversion, extroversion,sensing and thinking.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University