People who have lost a loved one often try to make some meaning of their lo
ss. The authors explore the ways people try to make meaning of loss. the fa
ctors that predict difficulty in making meaning, and the emotional outcomes
of finding meaning. They also contrast the process of finding meaning with
finding some benefit in the loss, even if meaning cannot be found Our disc
ussion centers on a study of 205 bereaved people who were interviewed befor
e their loss and 1, 6, 13, and 18 months after their loss. The authors draw
conclusions from this work nor only for bereavement theories bur also for
general theories of adjustment in social and personality psychology.