PATHOLOGICAL GRIEF - DIAGNOSIS AND EXPLANATION

Pathological grief deserves a place in the diagnostic nomenclature. Be cause posttraumatic stress disorder requires an event beyond the range of usual experience and bereavement is virtually a universal experien ce, a new diagnosis of signs and symptoms precipitated by a loss event is needed. Many varieties of pathological grief have been noted in cl inical research studies, and multiple diagnoses of pathological grief would make research difficult. The authors advance a solution in a per sonality-based explanation of abnormal responses to loss events; this allows for a single diagnosis of pathological grief. The authors also present a predictive model to partially explain pathological grief by antecedent trait combinations. The hypothesis is that persons with a p reloss combination of both contradictions in relational schemas about the deceased and tendencies toward excessive control to stifle unwante d affect will tend to have unsuccessful processes of mourning. Types o f contradictions and overcontrol may vary, yielding personality-based varieties of response within a single diagnostic category.