Examining the Delayed Grief Hypothesis Across 5 Years of Bereavement

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3757145
AutoresGeorge A Bonanno (0000-0002-8260-4435, Teachers College, Columbia University), Nigel P Field (Pacific Graduate School of Psychology)
Ano2001
Volume44
Fascículo5
Páginas798-816
Data de publicação2001-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAmerican Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0002764201044005007
OpenAlexW2035749725
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas32
Referências citadas36

Traditional bereavement theories emphasize that it is crucial to work through the emotional meanings of a loss and that the failure to do so typically results in delayed grief symptoms. This article reports data examining these assumptions prospectively across the first 5 years of bereavement. Based on previous validity data, elevated symptoms were defined in terms of 6-month median scores for each measure. Delayed elevations were observed on isolated measures for 3 (7%) participants. However, these elevations were more parsimoniously explained by random measurement error. Furthermore, when a weighted grief-depression composite score was used to maximize the probability of capturing the true (latent) grief variable, not a single case of delayed symptom elevations was observed. Finally, data on emotional processing of the loss at 6 months failed to support the traditional assumption that minimal emotional processing of the loss would lead to delayed grief

Complicated grief · Depression (economics) · Developmental psychology · Grief · Psychotherapist · Clinical Psychology · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology