Voorbij het gebroken hart

Abstract

Beyond the broken heart: Mental and physical health consequences of losing a loved one Is there such a phenomenon as ‘the broken heart’: Can those who have lost a loved one really die as a consequence of their bereavement? This question provides the starting point for a review of our scientific research program, which has focused on this stressful life event, placing this within the framework of general scientific knowledge about grief and grieving. Following discussion of research on the mortality of bereavement (in which the broken heart phenomenon is indeed confirmed) both mental and physical health consequences of losing a loved one are described, and attention is given to factors which increase the risk of such effects for some bereaved people. Effectiveness of psychotherapeutic intervention is evaluated, with the conclusion that professional help is not needed by all those who suffer a bereavement. Instead, it should be tailored toward those at high risk or with complications in their grieving. (Non)adaptive ways of coping are outlined through a comparatively new model, the Dual Process Model of Coping with Loss (Stroebe & Schut, 1999). Finally, cognitive processes underlying (mal)adaptation are described in the context of directions for future research in this field. Description of the above research covers (1) theoretical contributions, (2) reviews of the state of knowledge in the bereavement field, both generally and on specific topics, (3) empirical research on loss of a partner, child or other significant person, and (4) applied practice-directed research on a variety of issues.