The Role of Animal Companions in the Bereavement Experiences of Australian Lesbians and Gay Men.

All too often, humans who experience the death of a partner are directed towards other humans for support, ignoring the important role that animal companions play in the lives of many humans. For lesbians and gay men specifically - whose grief may be disenfranchised - animal companions may play a particularly important role. This paper reports on a secondary analysis of interviews with 10 Australian lesbians or gay men who had lost a partner due to non-HIV related issues. Six of the participants spoke impromptu about the importance of animal companions following the death of a partner. Thematic analysis resulted in the development of three themes: (1) animals provide comfort and company, (2) animals serve as a reminder of partners, and (3) animals give people a reason to go on. The paper concludes by considering the importance of speaking about animals in the context of research and practice related to human bereavement.

Positive affect and resilience in tertiary education students.

Mental illnesses are the greatest health problems faced by younger people. As a group, tertiary education students demonstrate higher levels of distress than their age matched peers who are not tertiary students, making them an at-risk group for the development of psychopathology. Therefore, this study investigates existing theories of resilience in order to determine how it may be promoted in tertiary education students. Data relating to affect, depression, anxiety, distress, and resilience were collected from 1072 tertiary education students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study found that positive affect was responsible for approximately 25% of the variance in depressive symptoms but less than 10% of the variance in symptoms of anxiety in tertiary students. The results further showed that positive affect was responsible for 21% of variance in overall distress and the 15% of variance in resilience. The findings of this study suggest that positive affect is more closely associated with symptoms of depression than with symptoms of anxiety in tertiary students. The results further suggest that positive affect may be a useful tool for relieving symptoms of depression and overall distress, and improving levels of resilience in this population.

Distress of tertiary education students in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: This project sought to characterize levels of distress in Australian tertiary education students during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Advertisements were placed on multiple participant recruitment and student run websites associated with various tertiary institutions. Level of overall distress was assessed with the K-10 so that comparisons could be made with previous research. A total of 1072 tertiary education students 18 years or older participated in the study. RESULTS: 70.9% of tertiary education students studying in Australia displayed elevated levels of psychological distress during the pandemic, with 23.01% of the sample reporting extreme levels of distress. CONCLUSIONS: More tertiary education students experienced severe distress during the COVID-19 pandemic than adults in the general population, as well as before the pandemic. IMPLICATIONS: Services are needed to help tertiary education students cope with elevated levels of distress associated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bereavement and coping following the death of a personally significant popular musician.

The current study explores the bereavement and coping of fans following the death of a personally significant popular musician. Nine participants completed individual interviews and the data were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three superordinate themes were identified: a meaningful relationship, disenfranchisement of grief, and social recognition of grief. The findings highlight that the impact of a musician's death is deeply personal yet socially underrecognized. The loss of the parasocial relationship with the musician is comparable to losing a close social contact. Future research should investigate the roles of culture and social media in bereavement following a musician's death.

Same-Sex Partner Bereavement: Non-HIV-Related Loss and New Research Directions.

The experience of same-sex-attracted people who have lost a partner is neglected in the existing literature on bereavement. Previous research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and questioning (LGBTIQ) populations tends to focus on the loss of a partner to HIV-related causes, and there is scant research concerning non-HIV-related bereavement. The purpose of this article is to investigate the non-HIV-related bereavement experiences of same-sex partners and to address the potential complications of disenfranchised grief. Coping with the loss of a same-sex partner and the impact of bereavement on subsequent relationships are also discussed. Implications for counseling of bereaved same-sex-attracted individuals are drawn, and recommendations for future psychological research on the experience of bereavement are made.

Evaluating programs for young people with a family member with mental health challenges: protocol for a mixed methods, longitudinal, collaborative evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Young people with a sibling or parent who experiences mental health challenges have their own support needs. Most programs designed for this population lack a strong evidence base, and the involvement of young people in the development and evaluation of programs designed to support them is unclear or lacking. METHODS: This paper describes a protocol for a mixed methods, longitudinal, collaborative evaluation of a suite of programs delivered by The Satellite Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation for young people (5-25 years) who have a family member with mental health challenges. Young people's lived experience and knowledge will guide the research approach. Institutional ethics approval has been obtained. Over a three year period, approximately 150 young people will be surveyed online on various wellbeing outcome measures, prior to, six and twelve months following program participation with data analysed using multi-level modelling. Groups of young people will be interviewed after participating in different Satellite programs each year. An additional group of young people will be interviewed individually over time. Transcripts will be analysed using thematic analysis. Young people's creative artworks on their experiences will be included as part of the evaluation data. DISCUSSION: This novel, collaborative evaluation will provide vital evidence on young people's experiences and outcomes during their time with Satellite. Findings will be used to inform future program development and policy. The approach used here may guide other researchers engaging in collaborative evaluations with community organisations.