Toward an integrative perspective on bereavement

For nearly a century, bereavement theorists have assumed that recovery from loss requires a period of grief work in which the ultimate goal is the sev ering of the attachment bond to the deceased. Reviews appearing in the 1980 s noted a surprising absence of empirical support for this view, thus leavi ng the bereavement field without a guiding theoretical base. In this articl e, the authors consider alternative perspectives on bereavement that are ba sed on cognitive stress theory, attachment theory, the social-functional ac count of emotion, and trauma theory. They then elaborate on the most promis ing features of each theory in an attempt to develop an integrative framewo rk to guide future research. The authors elucidate 4 fundamental components of the grieving process-context, meaning, representations of the lost rela tionship, and coping and emotion-regulation processes-and suggest ways in w hich these components may interact over the course of bereavement.