Handbook of Bereavement: Theory, Research, and Intervention

The Handbook of Bereavement constitutes a comprehensive review of scientific knowledge on the consequences of losing a loved person through death. The volume brings into focus a wide variety of theoretical approaches that have recently been incorporated into bereavement research. Physiological changes associated with the mental and physical consequences of bereavement, where significant advances in knowledge have recently been made, are surveyed. The phenomenology of grief, distinctions between normal and pathological grief, as well as measurement and assessment techniques, are given detailed coverage. Chapters document not only detrimental effects to mental and physical health, but a much broader range of consequences associated with loss. They explore the relative vulnerability and coping styles of different individuals and groups. Analyses also go beyond the consideration of marital bereavement to reflect upon many different types of loss, including the special cases of bereavement among AIDS survivors and Holocaust survivors. Evaluations are provided of the availability and efficact of the different kinds of support for bereaved people, ranging from informal help to self-help groups to various counseling and therapy intervention programs. The Handbook of Bereavement brings together an international, interdisciplinary group of scholars to report research and explore key issues on the topic of bereavement. Focusing on methodologically sound, theoretically oriented, and empirically derived knowledge, the authors provide a structured framework for researchers and practitioners.

Part I. Introduction: 1. Bereavement research and theory: an introduction to the Handbook Margaret S. Stoebe, Wolfgang Stroebe, and Robert O. Hansson; Part II. The Phenomenology and Measurement of Grief: 2. The course of normal grief Stephen R. Shuchter, and Sidney Zisook; 3. Pathological grief reactions Warwick Middleton, Beverly Raphael, Nada Martinek, and Vivienne Misso; 4. Measurement issues in bereavement Robert O. Hansson, Bruce N. Carpenter, and Sharon K. Fairchild; Part III. Current Theories of Grief, Mourning, and Bereavement: 5. Grief as an emotion and as disease: a social-constructionist perspective James R. Averill, and Elma P. Nunley; 6. Bereavement as a psychosocial transition: processes of adaptation to change Colin Murray Parkes; 7. Grief: the social context of private feelings Paul C. Rosenblatt; 8. Bereavement from the perspective of cognitive-experiential self-theory Seymour Epstein; Part IV. Physiological Changes Following Bereavement: 9. Biobehavioral consequences of loss in nonhuman primates: individual differences Mark L. Laudenslager, Maria L. Boccia, and Martin L. Reite; 10. Neuroendocrine changes following bereavement Kathleen Kim, and Selby Jacobs; 11. Bereavement, depressive symptoms, and immune function Michael Irwin, and Jennifer Pike; Part V. The Psychological, Social, and Health Impacts of Conjugal Bereavement: 12. The mortality of bereavement: a review Margaret S. Stroebe, and Wolfgang Stroebe; 13. Psychological resilience among widowed men and women: a 10-year follow-up of a national sample Robert R. McCrae, and Paul T. Costa, Jr; 14. Determinants of adjustment to bereavement in younger widows and widowers Wolfgang Stroebe, and Margaret S. Stoebe; 15. The impact of spousal bereavement on older widows and widowers Dolores Gallagher-Thompson, Andrew Futterman, Norman Farberow, Larry W. Thompson, and James Peterson; 16. The course of spousal bereavement in later life Dale A. Lund, Michael S. Caserta, and Margaret F. Dimond; 17. Risk factors in bereavement outcome Catherine M. Sanders; Part VI. Grief Reactions to Different Types of Loss: 18. Loss and recovery Robert S. Weiss; 19. The death of a child is forever: the life course impact of child loss Simon Shimshon Rubin; 20. Children’s reactions to the death of a parent Phyllis R. Silverman, and J. William Worden; 21. Bereavement following death from AIDS: unique problems, reactions, and special needs John L. Martin, and Laura Dean; 22. Sleep and dreams in well-adjusted and less adjusted Holocaust survivors Hanna Kaminer, and Peretz Lavie; Part VII. Coping, Counseling, and Therapy: 23. The meaning of loss and adjustment to bereavement Camille B. Wortman, Roxane Cohen Silver, and Ronald C. Kessler; 24. Old age and widowhood: issues of personal control and independence Robert O. Hansson, Jacqueline H. Remondet, and Marlene Galusha; 25. The support systems of American urban widows Helena Znaniecka Lopata; 26. The role of social support in bereavement Stanley K. Stylianos, and Mary L. S. Vachon; 27. Bereavemnet self-help groups: a review of conceptual and methodological issues Morton A. Lieberman; 28. Counseling and therapy of the bereaved Beverly Raphael, Warwick Middleton, Nada Martinek, and Vivienne Misso; Part VIII. Conclusions: 29. Contemporary themes and controversies in bereavement research Margaret S. Stroebe, Robert O. Hansson, and Wolfgang Stroebe.