Middle Range Theory of Chronic Sorrow: Author and Background Information According to S. Vitale & C. Falco (2014), the term “chronic sorrow” was coined …show more content…
This is evidenced by the previously mentioned study of 196 individuals who experienced a significant loss. Ten separate qualitative research groups interviewed these individuals using the Burke Chronic Sorrow Questionnaire (Eakes, 2017). This information was assimilated and then extrapolated to create the theory of chronic sorrow. The theorists created a broad concept by using specific data gathered from the Burke Chronic Sorrow Questionnaire. The four major concepts of this theory are recurrent sorrow, endless sorrow, growing intensity, and predictable triggers via internal or external forces (Vitale & Falco, 2014). The key terms for this theory are chronic sorrow, loss experience, disparity, trigger event, internal management methods, and external management methods (Eakes, 2017). These key terms are explicitly defined. Chronic sorrow is periodic, pervasive sadness with continuous disparity due to a loss event (Eakes, 2017). Loss experience is any significant loss, which may be due to a single, tragic event with a foreseeable end, or it may be due to a continual feeling of loss without a foreseeable end (Eakes, 2017). Disparity is the negative difference between the individual’s desired expectation and the individual’s unwanted reality due to a loss experience (Eakes, 2017). Trigger events are …show more content…
Grief is described as having a shorter more reasonable duration, while sorrow continues endlessly and has no emotional closure (Coughlin & Sethares, 2017). The death of a loved one has a period of mourning, but emotional closure typically follows with enough time. Chronic sorrow scenarios, such as the birth of an intellectually disabled child, do not resolve with time, and sorrow is often an endless cycle. The cycle of chronic sorrow often follows the following pattern: triggering event, episode of sorrow, degree of recovery, period of happiness, and concern need for assistance (Coughlin & Sethares, 2017). Though these concepts are often dependent upon one another, they can be experienced in many different