Treating Complicated Grief among Orphaned Children in Kenya: Effectiveness of Complicated Grief Therapy

Complicated Grief (CG) also referred to as complicated bereavement is a clinically significant condition even though there is limited evidence on its prevalence and treatment in Kenya and Africa in general. The main aim of this 2019 study was to test the efficacy of a modified Complicated Grief T...

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Main Authors: Ngesa, Maureen O., Tuikong, Sylvia, Ongaro, Kennedy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Open Journal of Social Sciences 2021
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Online Access:https://repository.daystar.ac.ke/handle/123456789/3572
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author Ngesa, Maureen O.
Tuikong, Sylvia
Ongaro, Kennedy
author_facet Ngesa, Maureen O.
Tuikong, Sylvia
Ongaro, Kennedy
author_sort Ngesa, Maureen O.
collection DSpace
description Complicated Grief (CG) also referred to as complicated bereavement is a clinically significant condition even though there is limited evidence on its prevalence and treatment in Kenya and Africa in general. The main aim of this 2019 study was to test the efficacy of a modified Complicated Grief Therapy (CGT) in treating complicated grief (CG) among orphaned children. A total of 426 orphaned children aged 10 - 15 years were screened using the Brief Grief Questionnaire to sample those with elevated grief scores. Of the 263 who met the criteria, only 241 participants fully participated in the six months study with 123 and 118 participants in the treatment and the control groups respectively. The treatment group was subjected to a shortened version of the CGT (12 weeks) while no treatment was offered to the control group. The prevalence of grief among orphaned children was 66% and using the Inventory for Complicated Grief, to determine the clinical levels, a mean grief score of 31.6 (SD = 9.52) was recorded. The reduced version of CGT was effective in the reduction of complicated grief symptoms t(122) = −15.79, p < 0.001 at a weekly reduction of 1.29 points. In the case of the control group, the paired sample test showed a statistically insignificant reduction of CG score, t(117) = −0.712, p = 0.478. Conclusions: Reducing CGT sessions 12 sessions to make it shorter and less stringent and using it as group therapy in a school setup did not interfere with its effect on the treatment of complicated grief among orphaned children.
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spelling ir-123456789-35722024-05-17T12:58:41Z Treating Complicated Grief among Orphaned Children in Kenya: Effectiveness of Complicated Grief Therapy Ngesa, Maureen O. Tuikong, Sylvia Ongaro, Kennedy Complicated grief Orphaned children Complicated grief therapy Bereaved children Parental death Complicated Grief (CG) also referred to as complicated bereavement is a clinically significant condition even though there is limited evidence on its prevalence and treatment in Kenya and Africa in general. The main aim of this 2019 study was to test the efficacy of a modified Complicated Grief Therapy (CGT) in treating complicated grief (CG) among orphaned children. A total of 426 orphaned children aged 10 - 15 years were screened using the Brief Grief Questionnaire to sample those with elevated grief scores. Of the 263 who met the criteria, only 241 participants fully participated in the six months study with 123 and 118 participants in the treatment and the control groups respectively. The treatment group was subjected to a shortened version of the CGT (12 weeks) while no treatment was offered to the control group. The prevalence of grief among orphaned children was 66% and using the Inventory for Complicated Grief, to determine the clinical levels, a mean grief score of 31.6 (SD = 9.52) was recorded. The reduced version of CGT was effective in the reduction of complicated grief symptoms t(122) = −15.79, p < 0.001 at a weekly reduction of 1.29 points. In the case of the control group, the paired sample test showed a statistically insignificant reduction of CG score, t(117) = −0.712, p = 0.478. Conclusions: Reducing CGT sessions 12 sessions to make it shorter and less stringent and using it as group therapy in a school setup did not interfere with its effect on the treatment of complicated grief among orphaned children. 2021-06-10T13:12:51Z 2021-06-10T13:12:51Z 2020 Article Ngesa, M. O., Tuikong, S., & Ongaro, K. (2020). Treating Complicated Grief among Orphaned Children in Kenya: Effectiveness of Complicated Grief Therapy. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 8, 461-478. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2020.84034 2327-5960 https://repository.daystar.ac.ke/handle/123456789/3572 en application/pdf Open Journal of Social Sciences
spellingShingle Complicated grief
Orphaned children
Complicated grief therapy
Bereaved children
Parental death
Ngesa, Maureen O.
Tuikong, Sylvia
Ongaro, Kennedy
Treating Complicated Grief among Orphaned Children in Kenya: Effectiveness of Complicated Grief Therapy
title Treating Complicated Grief among Orphaned Children in Kenya: Effectiveness of Complicated Grief Therapy
title_full Treating Complicated Grief among Orphaned Children in Kenya: Effectiveness of Complicated Grief Therapy
title_fullStr Treating Complicated Grief among Orphaned Children in Kenya: Effectiveness of Complicated Grief Therapy
title_full_unstemmed Treating Complicated Grief among Orphaned Children in Kenya: Effectiveness of Complicated Grief Therapy
title_short Treating Complicated Grief among Orphaned Children in Kenya: Effectiveness of Complicated Grief Therapy
title_sort treating complicated grief among orphaned children in kenya: effectiveness of complicated grief therapy
topic Complicated grief
Orphaned children
Complicated grief therapy
Bereaved children
Parental death
url https://repository.daystar.ac.ke/handle/123456789/3572
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AT ongarokennedy treatingcomplicatedgriefamongorphanedchildreninkenyaeffectivenessofcomplicatedgrieftherapy