Three assumptions guiding research and clinical intervention strategies for
people coping with sudden, traumatic loss are that (a) people confronting
such losses inevitably search for meaning, (b) over lime most are able to f
ind meaning and Put the issue aside, and (c) finding meaning is critical fo
r adjustment or healing. We review existing empirical research that address
es these assumptions and present evidence from a study, of 124 parents copi
ng with the death of their infant and a study of 93 adults coping with the
loss of their spouse or child to a motor vehicle accident. Results of these
studies indicate that (a) a significant subset of individuals do not searc
h for meaning and yet appear relatively well-adjusted to their loss; (b) le
ss than half of the respondents in each of these samples report finding any
meaning in their loss, even mote than a year after the event; and (c) thos
e who find meaning, although better adjusted than those who search but are
unable to find meaning, do not put the issue of meaning aside and move on.
Rather, they continue to pursue the issue of meaning as fervently as those
who search but do not find meaning. Implications for both research and clin
ical intervention are discussed.