Unresolved Grief
UNRESOLVED GRIEF AND CONTINUING BONDS:
AN ATTACHMENT PERSPECTIVE
Much of the contemporary bereavement literature on the continuing bond to the deceased (CB) has emphasized its adaptiveness and given limited attention to when it may be maladaptive. The attachment literature on disorganized– unresolved attachment classification in relation to loss, or ‘‘unresolved loss,’’ is informative in identifying CB expressions that are indicative of failure to integrate the death of a loved one. In this article, an important linkage is identified between a prominent indicator of unresolved loss that involves a lapse in the monitoring of reasoning implying disbelief that the person is dead and the clinical writings of J. Bowlby (1980) and V. D. Volkan (1981) on maladaptive variants of CB expression. The aim is to highlight the value of the attachment literature on unresolved loss in clarifying the conditions under which CB is likely to be maladaptive. There is increasing agreement among bereavement theorists and practitioners that an ongoing attachment to the deceased can be an integral part of successful adaptation to bereavement (Klass,
Silverman, & Nickman, 1996). This position, commonly known as the ‘‘continuing bonds’’ perspective, is counter to that presented by Freud (1917=1957) in his classic work ‘‘Mourning and Melancholia,’’ in which he proposed that successful adaptation to loss required the bereaved to detach his or her psychic investment in the deceased, or ‘‘relinquish’’ his or her attachment to the deceased, in order to complete the mourning process.
Much of the bereavement literature on the continuing bond to the deceased (CB) has emphasized its adaptiveness while paying minimal attention to conditions under which it may be maladaptive
(Fraley & Shaver, 1999). Despite its value in identifying CB as a normative aspect of bereavement adjustment, and its positive
Address correspondence to Nigel P. Field, Pacific Graduate School
AN ATTACHMENT PERSPECTIVE
Much of the contemporary bereavement literature on the continuing bond to the deceased (CB) has emphasized its adaptiveness and given limited attention to when it may be maladaptive. The attachment literature on disorganized– unresolved attachment classification in relation to loss, or ‘‘unresolved loss,’’ is informative in identifying CB expressions that are indicative of failure to integrate the death of a loved one. In this article, an important linkage is identified between a prominent indicator of unresolved loss that involves a lapse in the monitoring of reasoning implying disbelief that the person is dead and the clinical writings of J. Bowlby (1980) and V. D. Volkan (1981) on maladaptive variants of CB expression. The aim is to highlight the value of the attachment literature on unresolved loss in clarifying the conditions under which CB is likely to be maladaptive. There is increasing agreement among bereavement theorists and practitioners that an ongoing attachment to the deceased can be an integral part of successful adaptation to bereavement (Klass,
Silverman, & Nickman, 1996). This position, commonly known as the ‘‘continuing bonds’’ perspective, is counter to that presented by Freud (1917=1957) in his classic work ‘‘Mourning and Melancholia,’’ in which he proposed that successful adaptation to loss required the bereaved to detach his or her psychic investment in the deceased, or ‘‘relinquish’’ his or her attachment to the deceased, in order to complete the mourning process.
Much of the bereavement literature on the continuing bond to the deceased (CB) has emphasized its adaptiveness while paying minimal attention to conditions under which it may be maladaptive
(Fraley & Shaver, 1999). Despite its value in identifying CB as a normative aspect of bereavement adjustment, and its positive
Address correspondence to Nigel P. Field, Pacific Graduate School