Ambiguous loss: The impact on family members and the variables effective in coping with ambiguous loss

The present study aimed to determine the psychosocial effects of ambiguous loss on family members and to establish the relationships of certain individual variables with the adverse effects of ambiguous loss. The study sample consisted of 41 participants with a physically absent relative and 73 participants with a psychologically absent relative, totaling to 114 participants. The data were collected using Demographic Questionnaire, Family Structure and Loss-Related Effects, which were developed by the researcher; Boundary Ambiguity Scales, which were adapted to Turkish by the researcher within the scope of this study; Intolerance of Uncertainty-Short Version (IUS-12); Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI); Coping Style Scale (CSS); Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and Dialectical-Self Scale (DSS). The procedure was implemented face-to-face and through digital media between June 2017 and December 2017, and the data analysis was conducted using SPSS 21.0 software package. The boundary ambiguity scales adapted to Turkish were found to be highly reliable so that they can be used to measure boundary ambiguity of individuals who have a significant one physically missing or with Alzheimer's disease. The study findings indicated that the family members experiencing ambiguous loss suffer from boundary ambiguity; physical, emotional and cognitive problems; decreased family rituals and adverse effects on family, business and social lives. The decreased family rituals and the adverse effects on family and business lives were found to be higher in the physical loss group, whereas boundary ambiguity, emotional and cognitive problems and adverse effects on social life were greater in the psychological loss group. The findings on individual variables demonstrated that intolerance of uncertainty and dialectical thinking are positively related with boundary ambiguity and the individual effects of loss. Likewise, passive coping strategies were found to enhance boundary ambiguity as well as emotional and cognitive problems. On the other hand; no significant linear relationship was established between cognitive flexibility, active coping strategies, resilience and boundary ambiguity. Nevertheless, the active coping strategies were found to increase emotional problems, while cognitive flexibility and resilience decrease physical, emotional and cognitive problems. Furthermore, intolerance of uncertainty was established to be negatively correlated with cognitive flexibility. The findings of the present study reveal the necessity to further investigate the effects of ambiguous loss on individual family members and family as a whole, and the significance of therapeutic interventions for people suffering from ambiguous loss in terms of social and clinical practices.