The PURL Study

A Project to Understand Reactions to Loss

Who is eligible to participate?  For scientific reasons we have restricted our study to persons who are younger than 65 years of age and who have lost a spouse within 1 ½ to 3 years ago.  

How long does the study last? Participants come to Teachers College on two separate occasions each for 2 hours. These visits are within a month of each other. 

How do we protect confidentiality? All written materials are identified only by a code number. Our participants’ actual names are never recorded directly on any of the material that includes their responses.

What does being in the study involve? The main point of our study is to learn more about each person's individual experience with grief.  When a bereaved person enters the study, we first ask them to fill out a set of questionnaires that give us background information. We then ask them to come two times to our office at Teachers College for an interview and to complete some simple computer tasks. Although we ask a number of direct questions, a large part of the interview allows our participants to tell us as best they can what bereavement is like for them, to describe the kind of relationship they had with the person they have lost, and how they are coping with the loss. In asking these questions, we try to give our participants plenty of room to express whatever thoughts and feelings they may have. The simple computer tasks do not require prior experience with computers. These tasks include identifying the color of words, rating of geometric shapes, enhancing or suppressing responses to pictures, and recalling  faces that have been presented. We are asking bereaved persons to complete these tasks because they help us to better understand how each person experiences their loss.  

Are there any risks to participating in this study? Some questions that we ask may be difficult or painful to talk about. However, some of the bereaved people who have participated in our studies have said they found the experience rewarding. We can’t guarantee that everyone will have that experience, and we must stress that our study can’t be considered a form of therapy.

What are the advantages of participating in this study? We offer a modest financial benefit. Participants are paid $200 for the interviews and computer tasks. In addition, participants leave our study with the knowledge that they have shared their experiences with trained researchers who are working to learn more about the grieving process. In this way, participants will know that they have contributed to our knowledge about how people grieve, and hopefully to the development of new interventions that can help alleviate the suffering of others who have experienced a loss.

Last Updated: October 30, 2007 by Joe King