Purpose
The purpose of this study was to give empirical proof that continuing bonds of attachment to a deceased spouse would give the most successful adaptation to bereavement. The study examined the measures of psychological adjustment within a 5 year post-loss period. By the end of the study, the researchers hoped to gain insight into if continued bonds would lead to adaptive lifestyle or would it be maladaptive and would continued bonds prove to lead to a healthier ongoing life.
Method
Participants
89 participants were selected to start the study. 5 years post-loss of their bereavement, only 39 could participate in the 5 year follow up. The 39 participants included the following: 26 women and 13 men between the ages of 28-56.
Setting
The participants lived in the San Francisco Bay area. The participants were recruited through newspaper ads, posted notices, and referrals from a variety of institutions.
Dependent variable(s)
The measured data came from a variety of psychological test and grief-specific symptomatology questionnaires. Additionally there were measurements of the participant’s relationship to the deceased while the spouse was alive. The target behavior as identified in the study, states,
“If continuing bonds at 5 years postloss are an expression of refusal to relinquish the attachment due to excessive dependency on the deceased, anxious attachment should be associated with greater use of continuing bonds at 5 years postloss. On the other hand, if continuing bonds are simply an expression of a more satisfying prior relationship with the deceased, a positive correlation should be expected between a measure of relationship satisfaction in the prior relationship with the deceased and continuing...
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...rs to truly determine the results. This study gave more conclusive results to the adaptiveness of continuing bonds, however the results still do not provide enough answers to whether bonds should be actually continued or not. Additionally, of this study, 92% were Caucasian. So there is not enough of a sample representative of other ethnicities or cultures to correctly identify if continuing bonds would be adaptive to other groups of people. In my opinion, this study gave great insight into the behaviors of bereaved spouses. There are too many various factors to have one overall view of adaptiveness or maladaptiveness to continuing bonds.
Works Cited
Field, N. P., Gal-Oz, E., & Bonanno, G. A. (2003). Continuing bonds and adjustment at 5 years after the death of a spouse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(1), 110-117. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.71.1.110
Hazan, C., Gur-Yaish, N., & Campa, M. (2003). What does it mean to be attached? In W. S. Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.) Adult Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Implications, (pp. 55 – 85). New York: Guilford.
Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth and Kessler, David A. On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages. New York: Scribner, 2005. Print.
Kobak, R., & Madsen, S. (2008). Disruptions in Attachment Bonds: Implications for theory, research and clinical intervention. In J. Cassidy & P.R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of Attachment: Theory, research and clinical applications (2nd Edition).
Emotion-focused couples therapy assists in identifying, processing and expressing partners’ emotional experiences within the context of their relationship. Emotions are treated differentially depending on which emotion is expressed and how it functions for both the individual and the couple (Goldman and Greenberg, 2013). Emotion-focused therapy is rooted in attachment theory, using the lense of early relationship bonds to conceptualize the couple’s relational conflict issues. These early relationships influence one’s identity and self-soothing practices (Goldman and Greenberg, 2013). Terminal illness and end-stage cancer can threaten the attachment bond that creates safety and security within couples. Emotion-focused couples therapy has been shown to be effective when working with couples where one partner is facing terminal illness (Tie and Poulsen, 2013) or end-stage cancer (McLean and Nissim, 2007; McLean, Walton, Rodin, Esplen, & Jones, 2013). Partners who are experiencing depression along with marital distress have also improved with emotion-focused couples therapy (McLean and Nissim, 2007), showing rapid recovery with spousal support and compassion (Gurman, 2008). Considering the case of Skyler and Walter, Emotion-focused couples therapy would be the most effective in alleviating their current relational conflicts that are influenced by Walter’s cancer diagnosis, Skyler’s depression, and both partners’ attachment experiences in early life as well as in their relationship.
Individually, everyone has their own methods of dealing with situations and emotions regardless of any positive or negative connotation affixed to them. One prime example of this comes with grief. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book “On Death and Dying” suggests that there are five stages of mourning and grief that are universal and, at one point or another, experienced by people from all walks of life. These stages, in no particular order, are as follows: Denial and Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally Acceptance. Each individual person works through these stages in different orders for varying levels of time and intensity, but most if not all are necessary to “move on.” In order for positive change to occur following a loss, one must come to terms with not only the event but also themselves.
Following the above line of research, Mikulincer and Florian (2000) demonstrated that attachment style influences the way people react to death reminders. For instance, secure persons reacted to mortality salience with a higher desire for intimacy in romantic relationships, while individuals who scored high on the anxiety or avoidance component reacted with harsher punishment for social transgressors. These findings imply that secure persons react to death reminders by relying on their attachment relationships. In contrast, persons scoring high on either avoidance or anxiety dimension tend to rely on other defense mechanisms.
...ors throughout the study. The authors aim to convince the general audience that there is a connection between the attachment theory and adult romantic relationships that should be considered throughout other studies and research. In the study, there were no sex differences obtained in three attachment styles, nor in the background questions; authors assume that conditions are generally the same between both sexes. While the data supports the position, attachment styles correlate with adult love relationships, the different conditions of both sexes are not considered within this study which affects the reliability of this data and what it supports. Additionally, the studies data was immensely accumulated from questionnaires, biased results could have been created based off the questions that were asked or the current situation or mood the subjects were experiencing.
Acknowledging, the importance of attachment has been in helpful development of couples therapy, in particular to Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), “where it helps explain how even healthy adults need to depend on each other,” (Nichols, 2013, p. 62). EFT is an empirically validated experiential therapy model that works with emotion to create change. EFT therapists use “attachment theory to deconstruct the familiar dynamic in which one partner criticizes and complains while the other gets defensive and withdraws,” (Nichols, 2013, p.63). Research has demonstrated the importance of attachment in individuals. It is not solely a childhood trait attachment is a trait that individuals carry for the rest of their lives. Nonetheless, it is important to work on the attachments with families and couples in order to alleviate some of the negative interactions that arise from feeling a fear of losing the attachment with
This article investigates the need for expanded grief interventions in the ID population. The authors look at a growing interest in the signs of grief that cause long term problems while acknowledging that too little is known about the grieving
One particular study in Sweden rated grief before the loss as being even more severe than that taking place after the loss. More than 40 percent of the women studied admitted that the pre-loss phase was more severe than the post-death experience. It is estimated that 22 to 75 percent of patients who are dying experience some clinical depression; however, depression is not clinically considered a normal part of the dying
"Effects of Separation and Attachment." Practice Notes. Jordan Institute for Families, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
the role of illness characteristics, caregiving, and attachment. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 15(6), 632-645. doi:10.1080/13548506.2010.498891.
In 1969 Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a psychiatrist, published the Pioneering book On Death and Dying. The work acquainted the world with the grieving process, called the five stages of grief. Kübler-Ross gathered her research from studying individuals with terminal cancer (Johnson, 2007). The first stage of the grieving process is denial. In this stage the person refuses to believe that their loved one is deceased, a common thought during this period is, “This can’t be happening to me” (Johnson, 2007).The second stage of the grieving process is anger. In this level the person becomes frustrated with their circumstances, a customary complaint is “Why is this happening to me?” (Johnson, 2007). The third stage of the grieving process is bargaining. At this point the individual hopes that they can prevent their grief, this typically involves bartering with a higher power, and an ordinary observance during this time is “I will do anything to have them back” (Johnson, 2007). The fourth and most identifiable stage of grief is depression. This phase is habitually the lengthiest as...
Major Depressive Disorder and the “Bereavement Exclusion”. American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 Development. Retrieved March 8, 2014, from http://www.dsm5.org/Documents/Bereavement%20Exclusion%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
Nurses work in many situations where they will observe patients and their families experiencing grief and loss. In order for patients to receive the utmost care it is imperative for nurses to have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of these theories and the stages of grief and loss to facilitate support to their patients and their patients families.