Longitudinal psychological distancing training in bereaved spouses reduces self-reported negative affect, stress, grief rumination, and whole-brain negative affect pattern expression

Spousal bereavement is a significant life stressor associated with subsequent health problems. Cognitive reappraisal interventions may reduce grief burden when implemented early in the grief trajectory. In this preregistered randomized controlled trial, bereaved spouses received five sessions of reappraisal training (i.e., using either psychological distancing or reinterpretation) over two weeks. Data collection occurred from February 2022 through March 2024. Compared to reinterpretation, distancing training yielded more consistent and robust decreases in self-reported negative affect, perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and grief rumination post-intervention, including maintenance at long-term follow-up two months post-intervention. Distancing training further reduced similarity to a whole-brain negative affect pattern over time, whereas reinterpretation training promoted increased similarity to this negative affect pattern. Findings support predictions that distancing is more effective than reinterpretation in reducing psychological distress. These results support a theoretical model whereby distancing may be well-suited for intense, highly recurrent negative situations and motivate further investigation of the clinical utility of distancing training in bereaved individuals.