Theories Of Grief Research Articles

Gender Differences in Complicated Grief among the Elderly

The resolution of grief has been frequently posited to progress through stages. Seventy-one widows and twenty-six widowers bereaved from five months to thirty-seven years were studied to determine if their resolution of grief-related symptoms could be mapped onto a stage theory of grief and to examine if men and women follow the same temporal course. An analysis of variance was used to test for differences in complicated grief symptoms over time and between widows and widowers. Widowers bereaved three years or longer were found to have increased bitterness. By contrast, widows who were bereaved three years and beyond were found to have lower levels of complicated grief. These preliminary findings suggest that grief may not resolve in stages and that symptoms of complicated grief may not decline significantly over time. Rather symptoms of complicated grief appear to remain stable at least for the first three years of bereavement for both men and women but, thereafter, among widowers tend to increase and among widows to decrease.

Nurses' stress caring for organ donors.

Nurses caring for organ donors and their families want stress debriefing sessions and more education on grief and coping theories, according to a nurse researcher.

Group Work With Clients Experiencing Grieving: Moving From Theory to Practice

Abstract This article describes the theory and practice of group work with a central focus on what group leaders can expect in the process of leading a grieving and loss group. The authors describe their group work with clients experiencing grief and review several theories of grief relating to loss.

Anticipatory grief: a theoretical challenge.

The theories of loss and grief described by Freud and Bowlby have provided considerable interest in anticipatory grief. Anticipatory grief is assumed to be akin to post-death grief, but commencing prior to the loss of the loved one. 'Grief work' completed during the anticipatory period is purported to mitigate against abnormal grief reactions after death and enhance adjustment to loss. Research conducted to investigate the link between anticipatory grief and postbereavement adjustment has not, however, yielded conclusive findings. It is argued that the intellectual vision of researchers has been obscured by the traditional view of grief leading to conceptual confusion in the theoretical literature and equivocal findings of the empirical investigations. The limited view of the 'death event' as the only loss incurred fails to consider the past, present and future losses that may occur as a result of terminal disease. The physiological, psychological, interpersonal and sociocultural factors evident in the terminal situation serve to highlight the existence of many previously unconsidered variables which may determine the anticipatory grief experience. Until the influence of these determining variables is acknowledged and researchers learn to look beyond the parameters of the traditional models of grief, the costs and/or benefits of the anticipatory period will remain largely undefined. A good starting point may be the adoption of the alternative label, 'terminal response'.

Tools for Many Trades: Reaffirming the Use of Grief Counselling by Health, Welfare and Pastoral Workers

Abstract The use of counselling is increasingly questioned as an appropriate and viable activity for professionals in statutory and general settings whose work roles and tasks are varied. This paper looks specifically at grief counselling and examines some of the reasons why applications of grief theories and grief counselling by such workers have been narrow and limited. It then suggests a framework for teaching the subject, offering relevant applications. Finally, it points to developing areas of grief counselling in multi-disciplinary contexts and argues that working with grief and loss must be recognised and fostered as core, generic skills for the non-specialist.

AIDS-related bereavement among gay men: The inadequacy of current theories of grief.

AIDS-related bereavement among gay men: The inadequacy of current theories of grief.

Developing a Unique Slant

Developing a Unique Slant

Providing hospice bereavement follow-up services: Practicing the art of doing more with less

Bereavement is one of the most difficult aspects of hospice work. This article provides information on theories of grief, a model for a bereavement team, and suggestions for training. Minimal resources exist for bereavement; therefore, the task must be accom plished in a creative, cost-effective manner.

The Delayed Stress Syndrome: A Pathological Delayed Grief Reaction?

Many of the social and psychological problems displayed by Vietnam veterans have been classified as “Delayed Stress Syndrome.” Stress theory does not, however, adequately account for protracted reactions after the elements responsible for the stress have been removed. Grief theory provides a model that helps explain such reactions. Grief is a very stressful reaction to any significant loss, and failure to address and resolve grief can result in delayed reactions. The Vietnam experience was replete with significant traumatic losses, many of which were not resolved at the time. It was not until separated from the service that individuals, for a number of reasons, began to experience symptoms associated with suppressed grief. A major focus of delayed reaction research and therapy should be placed on the implications of delayed grief, as well as stress.

Family survivors of homicide victims: Theoretical perspectives and an exploratory study

AbstractLittle empirical information is available on the impact of homicide on surviving family members. Existing descriptions fall into a dichotomy of grief theory and those reporting symptoms of Post‐traumatic Stress Disorder. This pilot study offers a multidimensional formulation which combines symptoms reported across previous studies. Participants were 19 survivors recruited through a victim witness program and a victim rights organization. A learning model, Mowrer's Two Factor Theory, was applied to explain the acquisition and maintenance of post‐traumatic symptoms. Consistent with this model, survivors reported recurrent homicide‐related intrusions and avoidance behaviors on the Horowitz Impact of Event Scale (IES). Comparison of survivors' IES scores with those of victims of rape, loss of a family member, and other trauma revealed a high frequency of symptoms. Mean length of time since homicide was 2.5 years. The Derogatis Symptom Check List 90‐Revised (SCL9O‐R) revealed a high level of general psychiatric distress, with 66% of survivors meeting “caseness” criteria, indicating a need for treatment intervention. A 7‐point Likert scale measure of satisfaction with the criminal justice system was highly correlated with SCL9O‐R subscales of depression (r = − 0.82) and anxiety (r = − 0.82). This link between distress and perceptions of the justice system provided preliminary support for an equity theory perspective on survivor attributions. Conceptual, research, and clinical implications were discussed.

Family survivors of homicide victims: Theoretical perspectives and an exploratory study

Little empirical information is available on the impact of homicide on surviving family members. Existing descriptions fall into a dichotomy of grief theory and those reporting symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. This pilot study offers a multidimensional formulation which combines symptoms reported across previous studies. Participants were 19 survivors recruited through a victim witness program and a victim rights organization. A learning model, Mowrer's Two Factor Theory, was applied to explain the acquisition and maintenance of post-traumatic symptoms. Consistent with this model, survivors reported recurrent homicide-related intrusions and avoidance behaviors on the Horowitz Impact of Event Scale (IES). Comparison of survivors' IES scores with those of victims of rape, loss of a family member, and other trauma revealed a high frequency of symptoms. Mean length of time since homicide was 2.5 years. The Derogatis Symptom Check List 90-Revised (SCL9O-R) revealed a high level of general psychiatric distress, with 66% of survivors meeting “caseness” criteria, indicating a need for treatment intervention. A 7-point Likert scale measure of satisfaction with the criminal justice system was highly correlated with SCL9O-R subscales of depression (r = − 0.82) and anxiety (r = − 0.82). This link between distress and perceptions of the justice system provided preliminary support for an equity theory perspective on survivor attributions. Conceptual, research, and clinical implications were discussed.

Attachment Theory and Multiple Dimensions of Grief

In this article data from questionnaires completed by acutely bereaved widows and widowers were examined to identify the dimensions of psychological distress associated with bereavement. Using factor analysis, four factors that were meaningfully understood within the framework of attachment theory were found. These findings were consistent with the idea that grief is not a simple, decrescendoing emotional state, but rather a complex, evolving process with multiple dimensions. Our observations on the subjective distress of bereavement were related to other recently developed structured assessments of grief that are now available for the study of bereavement.

Disability and Grief

Stage theories of grief distort the grief experience of those who live with disabilities. Recurrent sorrow is complicated by social expectations of mourning and not mourning. Accessibility to grief and the development of community are described, and implications for social work are discussed.

Paul C. Rosenblatt. Bitter, Bitter tears: Nineteenth-Century Diarists and Twentieth-Century Grief Theories. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983. xiii + 201 pp. $25.00 (cloth); $12.95 (paper) (Reviewed by Paul McReynolds)

Journal of the History of the Behavioral SciencesVolume 22, Issue 3 p. 251-254 Book Review Paul C. Rosenblatt. Bitter, Bitter tears: Nineteenth-Century Diarists and Twentieth-Century Grief Theories. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983. xiii + 201 pp. $25.00 (cloth); $12.95 (paper) (Reviewed by Paul McReynolds) First published: July 1986 https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6696(198607)22:3<251::AID-JHBS2300220316>3.0.CO;2-1AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume22, Issue3July 1986Pages 251-254 RelatedInformation

Bitter, Bitter Tears: Nineteenth-Century Diarists and Twentieth-Century Grief Theories

That the pathology of grief was understood in the past by poets and others can be seen in Henry King's verse of 1657: Sleep on my Love, in thy cold bed.... Till age, or grief, or sickness, must/Marry my body to that dust. Current psychiatric practice recognizes that bereavement, which is the normal reaction to grief and mourning, if not resolved can lead to a chronic state of mental illness. Chronic depression is manifest periodically in relation to anniversaries or other reawakenings of memories of the original grief. This book deals with a study of the problem of grief as manifested in the writings of 56 Canadian and United States 19th-Century diarists. The writings are analyzed in the light of their contribution to 20th-century theories of grief and separation. The study is by a sociologist, and from that point of view, conclusions concern the process of grief rather than the

The Anatomy of Bereavement

In a volume that will likely become a classic, Dr Beverley Raphael has written definitively on the topic of bereavement. Her writing reflects not only a superb knowledge of the subject, but also a thoughtfully compassionate manner showing the wisdom of an experienced clinician. One is impressed by the book's comprehensive scope. Dr Raphael uses a developmental model in discussing the forms of bereavement as they are manifested throughout life, from infancy to old age. She invokes not only traditional psychodynamic theories of grief, but draws from learning and behavioral theories as well. The concept of bereavement is not limited to the death of loved ones but is applied to emotional reactions to other types of losses: body parts, health status, and employment. While the literature on grief has often focused on bereavement reactions in adults (particularly widows and widowers), a discussion of grief reactions during each stage of childhood

Staff burnout in the perspective of grief theory.

The processes leading to staff burnout are poorly understood, due to the very term "burnout." It is a static term which refers explicitly to the end-stage or outcome of a process, rather than to the process itself. Grief theory is an attempt to explore the process of adaptation to high stress work, a process which, through some inadequacy or disorder, too often eventuates in burnout. Concepts of grieving seem suited to this purpose because (a) grief has undergone transformation from a static term to a process term in response to theoretical efforts of the last generation, and (b) burnout entails considerable loss and is, in part, a response to loss. Kavenaugh's concept of the grieving process is used as a framework for a brief description of adaptation to the stresses of professional work with dying person and their families.

Rehabilitation after mastectomy: the group process.

Mastectomy is a frequently performed, emotionally stressful surgical procedure. Based on theories of loss and grief and crisis intervention, an in-hospital group program has been established to facilitate rehabilitation of patient and family. This paper discusses the alleviation of grief reactions and the fostering of growth-producing behavior through early postoperative participation in such groups. The function of the social worker as a member of an interdisciplinary team is examined, with particular focus on skills involved in promoting and enhancing the group process.

Effect of Specific Teaching Techniques

To test the effects of different teaching techniques on learning, transfer of learning, and affective behavior of nurses, three hypotheses were developed based on Gagne's Theory of Knowledge Acquisition, Ellis' Theory of Transfer of Learning, and Bloom's Theory of Affective Consequences of Knowledge. The hypotheses tested were that an experimental (E) group will learn, transfer, and demonstrate affective behaviors significantly more than control groups. Subjects were 131 staff nurses. The E group (N=36) was taught by means of filmstrip with discussion (FD). Control groups II, III, and IV (N=33, 31, and 31 subjects, respectively) were taught by means of lecture alone (L), lecture with discussion (LD), and filmstrip alone (F), respectively. The content taught was Engel's Theory of Grief and Mourning Process. Pre- and posttests were done to obtain measures on learning and transfer. Results showed that the E group transferred significantly more than the L group; in general, all groups showed significant increases in learning and transfer; film groups transferred significantly more than the lecture groups; subjects preferred LD and FD significantly more than F or L. Implications were made for education of patients, students, and staff.

Parental reactions to the birth of a handicapped child.

Study of the theories of crisis reaction and grief and mourning therapy provide an enlightened understanding of parental reactions to the birth of a handicapped child. This article explores ways in which the hospital social worker can assist parents in meeting this crisis and in dealing with the issues this reality presents.