International Journal of Behavioral Sciences

International Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Effectiveness of a Compassion-Focused Group Bereavement Intervention on Grief Intensity, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation, and Self-Compassion among Bereaved Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Zahra Javedanipour 1
Haniye Zarif Golbar Yazdi 2
Fatemeh Alidoosti 1
Seyedeh Maryam Moshirian Farahi 2
1 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Khayyam University, Mashhad, Iran
2 Department of Psychology and Counseling, Imam Reza International University, Mashhad, Iran
10.30491/ijbs.2026.569726.2300
Abstract
Introduction: Grief is a universal experience with profound psychological effects. This study examined the effectiveness of a compassion-focused group bereavement intervention on grief intensity, emotion regulation difficulties, and self-compassion in bereaved women.
Method: A randomized controlled trial with pretest–posttest–follow-up design was conducted. Twenty-seven bereaved women from Mashhad, Iran, were purposively sampled and randomly assigned to intervention (n = 13) or control (n = 14) groups. The intervention comprised ten weekly 90-minute compassion-focused grief sessions. Outcomes were measured at pre-test, post-test, and follow-up using the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG, Prigerson et al., 1995), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS, Gratz & Roemer, 2004), and Self-Compassion Scale (SCS, Neff, 2003), and analyzed with mixed repeated-measures ANOVA.
Results: The intervention significantly reduced Grief Intensity (F (2,24)=9.84, p=0.001, η²_p=0.451), Emotion Regulation Difficulties (F(2,24)=11.37, p<0.001, η²_p=0.485), and increased Self-Compassion (F(2,24)=4.82, p=0.018, η²_p=0.287) compared to controls. Improvements in grief and emotion regulation were maintained at follow-up, whereas self-compassion increases were most evident immediately post-intervention.
Conclusion: Compassion-focused group bereavement intervention effectively alleviates grief, improves emotion regulation, and enhances self-compassion, supporting its use in therapeutic programs to promote mental health.
Keywords
Bereavement
Compassion-Focused Therapy
Emotion Regulation
Grief
Self-Compassion
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International Journal of Behavioral Sciences
Volume 20, Issue 1
Spring 2026
Pages 19-29