Bereaved Young Adults Study

Wellbeing within the past two weeks will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and the 1-month follow-up via the 14-item Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF; Keyes, 2009). The MHC-SF is comprised of three empirically derived subscales: the 3-item Emotional Well-Being Subscale, the 6-item Psychological Well-Being Subscale, and the 5-item Social Well-Being Subscale. Higher scores on each subscale, and the total score overall (range: 0-56), indicate greater well-being.

Grief-related distress within the past two weeks will be measured using the 18-item Traumatic-Grief Inventory Self-Report version (TGI-SR; Boelen et al., 2019). The TGI-SR includes items that reflect the criteria for Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) and Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder set forth by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and International Classification of Diseases, respectively. Higher scores (range: 18-90) indicate more severe potentially impairing grief reactions.

Physical symptoms within the past two weeks will be measured using the Pennebaker Inventory of Limbic Languidness (PILL; Pennebaker et al., 1982). The PILL contains 54 items measured using a 5-point scale for the frequency of a variety of common physical symptoms (1 = never, 5 = more than once every week). Higher total scores (range, 0-216) indicate greater symptomatology.

Anxiety symptoms over the past 2 weeks will be measured using the 7-item PROMIS - Anxiety Short Form (Pilkonis, 2011). Higher scores (range: 7-35) on this scale indicate greater severity of anxiety symptoms.

Depressive symptoms over the past two weeks will be measured using the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977). The CES-D is a measure of symptom severity. Higher scores (range: 0-60) on this scale indicate greater depressive symptom severity.

Feelings of universality over the past two weeks and during the writing sessions will be measured using adapted versions of items included in a questionnaire used in research regarding group therapy and social support groups (i.e., Weinberg et al., 1995, Yalom, 1995). Feelings of universality will be assessed with 3 items (e.g., "I feel understood and accepted by others who have experienced a loss."). A higher total score (range: 3-21) indicates greater feelings of universality.

Psychological distance while thinking and while completing the writing sessions will be measured using adapted items from previous research on psychological distance (i.e., Ayduk & Kross, 2010; Libby & Eibach, 2011; Ross & Wilson, 2002). Psychological will be assessed with 4 items. A higher total score (range: 4-28) indicates psychological distance.

Feelings of generativity over the past two weeks and while completing the writing sessions will be measured using the 6-item generative achievement subscale of the Generativity Scale (Gruenewald et al., 2015). Higher scores (range: 13-78) on this scale indicate greater generativity levels.

Coping processes within the past two weeks will be measured using the COPE approach-oriented coping subscales (i.e., positive reinterpretation, emotional support, and acceptance; Carver et al., 1989), emotional approach coping scales (i.e., emotional processing, emotional expression; Stanton et al., 2000), and the COPE avoidance-oriented coping subscales (i.e., mental disengagement, denial; Carver et al., 1989; Eisenberg et al., 2012). Each subscale contains 4 times (28 items total) and assesses coping strategy use. Higher scores on each subscale (range: 4-16) indicate greater use of the associated coping strategy.