death and grieving

Running head : RESILIENCE AND BEREAVEMENT

Resilience and Bereavement

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Resilience and Bereavement

Bonanno (2004 ) reviewed the consistent , robust evidence that following a traumatic event , such as the death of a spouse , the majority of people are well-adjusted and do not have symptoms that are characteristics of post-traumatic stress dis (PTSD ) or other pathological conditions In meta-analytic studies (analyses of the results of previous studies of bereavement , individuals who exhibited relatively low levels of depression or distress have consistently approached or exceeded 50 of the sample

' and 10 to 15 ' suffered chronic depression and distress (p . 23 . Bonanno referred to the majority as resilient Other than experiencing minor sporadic symptoms for no more than a few weeks , there are not disruptions in their ability to function at work or in close relationships (p . 20

Bonanno noted that theories based on reports that most people suffer pathological symptoms following loss have resulted from studies using clinical samples of those who have sought therapy because of the severe emotional distress experienced only by a small minority (pp . 20-21 From such samples , theories have excluded the majority who are resilient ' as well as most others who suffer moderate symptoms and recover ' without intervention (p . 21 . Such theorists view trauma as an experience resulting in the need for therapy , in particular , the need for grief work ' following the death of a loved one . Well , grief work ' can 't do any harm , can it ? Based on Bonanno 's review of meta-analytic studies , large percentages of clients have been harmed (as many as 38 in one meta-analysis , most have neither been harmed nor helped , and those who have been helped were the small minority discussed above who suffered severe distress (pp . 21-22

Probably both because women , on average , outlive men and because in Western cultures there has been a tradition of wives being younger than husbands , widows , like white rats and college sophomores , have been readily available for research . However , while most of the bereavement studies reported in Bonanno have been of widows , he also noted that in a study of those hospitalized after an automobile accident , 79 did not suffer from PTSD , and in a study of Gulf War veterans one year after their return , 62 .5 suffered no psychological distress (p . 24 These findings suggested to Bonanno that , as in the studies of therapeutic outcome discussed above using widows , trauma theories proposing blanket intervention , even to those without symptoms , are misguided . Bonano also reviewed studies that have indicated the recent common practice of debriefing (i .e , offering group therapeutic intervention ) all people who even witnessed a public traumatic event such as 9-11 , is ineffective . and can impede natural recovery processes (p . 22 . Bonanno concluded by reviewing recent studies of resilient people that provided evidence that there were differences in the characteristics these people demonstrated that accounted for resilience

Before considering the implications of these findings for appropriate therapeutic interventions to use with those who are not resilient , the concepts of grief and...