People Bereaved by Violent Death : Negative Event Biases and Temporal Perception

A violent death is defined by its brutality, unexpectedness and is secondary to an external cause (suicide, homicide, accident). Bereavement following a violent death constitutes a particular clinical situation, at risk of complications. Research on bereavement after a violent death shows higher risks of psychiatric and somatic complications than in bereavement by non-violent death. These complications, sometimes comorbid, take the form of depressive episodes, post-traumatic stress disorders, suicidal behavior and prolonged grief disorders after 12 months, precociously mediated by ruminations.

Processes responsible for this increased risk of complications are poorly documented. Current literature relates mainly to socio-demographic and epidemiological factors which, alone, do not explain this difference in risks. Further research is needed exploring other kinds of data and processes. To our knowledge, there is no description of early neurocognitive functioning in people bereaved after violent death. This study aims at exploring early neurocognitive processes which can lead to complications in people bereaved by violent death.