Purpose
The purpose of this study was to give empirical proof that continuing bonds of attachment to a deceased spouse would give the most successful adaptation to bereavement. The study examined the measures of psychological adjustment within a 5 year post-loss period. By the end of the study, the researchers hoped to gain insight into if continued bonds would lead to adaptive lifestyle or would it be maladaptive and would continued bonds prove to lead to a healthier ongoing life.
Method
Participants
89 participants were selected to start the study. 5 years post-loss of their bereavement, only 39 could participate in the 5 year follow up. The 39 participants included the following: 26 women and 13 men between the ages of 28-56.
Setting
The participants lived in the San Francisco Bay area. The participants were recruited through newspaper ads, posted notices, and referrals from a variety of institutions.
Dependent variable(s)
The measured data came from a variety of psychological test and grief-specific symptomatology questionnaires. Additionally there were measurements of the participant’s relationship to the deceased while the spouse was alive. The target behavior as identified in the study, states,
“If continuing bonds at 5 years postloss are an expression of refusal to relinquish the attachment due to excessive dependency on the deceased, anxious attachment should be associated with greater use of continuing bonds at 5 years postloss. On the other hand, if continuing bonds are simply an expression of a more satisfying prior relationship with the deceased, a positive correlation should be expected between a measure of relationship satisfaction in the prior relationship with the deceased and continuing...
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...rs to truly determine the results. This study gave more conclusive results to the adaptiveness of continuing bonds, however the results still do not provide enough answers to whether bonds should be actually continued or not. Additionally, of this study, 92% were Caucasian. So there is not enough of a sample representative of other ethnicities or cultures to correctly identify if continuing bonds would be adaptive to other groups of people. In my opinion, this study gave great insight into the behaviors of bereaved spouses. There are too many various factors to have one overall view of adaptiveness or maladaptiveness to continuing bonds.
Works Cited
Field, N. P., Gal-Oz, E., & Bonanno, G. A. (2003). Continuing bonds and adjustment at 5 years after the death of a spouse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(1), 110-117. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.71.1.110
the role of illness characteristics, caregiving, and attachment. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 15(6), 632-645. doi:10.1080/13548506.2010.498891.
Hazan, C., Gur-Yaish, N., & Campa, M. (2003). What does it mean to be attached? In W. S. Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.) Adult Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Implications, (pp. 55 – 85). New York: Guilford.
Major Depressive Disorder and the “Bereavement Exclusion”. American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 Development. Retrieved March 8, 2014, from http://www.dsm5.org/Documents/Bereavement%20Exclusion%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
In 1969 Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a psychiatrist, published the Pioneering book On Death and Dying. The work acquainted the world with the grieving process, called the five stages of grief. Kübler-Ross gathered her research from studying individuals with terminal cancer (Johnson, 2007). The first stage of the grieving process is denial. In this stage the person refuses to believe that their loved one is deceased, a common thought during this period is, “This can’t be happening to me” (Johnson, 2007).The second stage of the grieving process is anger. In this level the person becomes frustrated with their circumstances, a customary complaint is “Why is this happening to me?” (Johnson, 2007). The third stage of the grieving process is bargaining. At this point the individual hopes that they can prevent their grief, this typically involves bartering with a higher power, and an ordinary observance during this time is “I will do anything to have them back” (Johnson, 2007). The fourth and most identifiable stage of grief is depression. This phase is habitually the lengthiest as...
Strodl, E., & Noller, P. (2003). The relationship of adult attachment dimensions to depression and agoraphobia. Personal Relationships, 10(2), 171-186. doi:10.1111/1475-6811.00044
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Leming, M., & Dickinson, G. (2011). Understanding dying, death, & bereavement. (7th ed., pp. 471-4). Belmont, California: Wadsworth.
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