Coping with tangible and intangible traumatic losses in prisoners of war

The study of trauma and loss has been biased towards a pathogenic perspecti ve with relatively few investigations assessing resilience. The present pap er demonstrates the role of coping, pre-captivity traumatic loss and social support at homecoming in the short and the long-term impact of tangible an d intangible traumatic losses of war captivity. Two case descriptions of fo rmer prisoners of war suggest that the utilization of active coping enabled good adjustment. On the other hand, emotion-focused, passive coping strate gies, pre-captivity unresolved loss, and perceived negative social support at homecoming lead to an enduring and painful psychological toll. The theor etical and clinical implications of coping with traumatic loss are discusse d.