The National Archive of Grief Support Studies
The National Archive of Grief Support Studies(NAGSS) database provides bibliographical information and summaries of recent articles selected for their relevance to grief and bereavement service providers. The articles that are summarized are selected from scholarly, peer-reviewed journals and are intended to highlight key concepts as well as provide a brief statement of implications for service providers. Bibliographical information may be used to obtain the original article.
Meaning Reconstruction in the First Two Years of Bereavement: The Role of Sense-Making and Benefit-Finding
Authors:
Holland, Jason M.
Currier, Joseph M.
Neimeyer, Robert A.
Source:
Omega: 2006. Volume 53, Issue 3, pp. 175-191.
Summary
This article summarizes the results of a research study that examined the impact that making sense of a death, or finding benefits in a death, had on the grief journey of over 1,000 recently bereaved undergraduate psychology students. The study showed that those bereaved individuals who were able to make sense of the loss had a greater likelihood of not developing the symptoms of complicated grief. Benefit-finding was found, in general, to be less significant than sense-making in explaining the development of symptoms of complicated grief.
Key words: adapt, benefit, sense, student
Service Provider Implications
This article suggests that providing opportunities for bereaved individuals to find ways to “make sense” of the death of a loved one may help the individuals progress in their grief journey and avoid complicated grief symptoms. The authors suggest that one approach service providers can use to help individuals find meaning in the death is to provide opportunities for telling the story of the life and death of the loved one. Telling the story of their loved one assists the bereaved individual in incorporating the loss into their own personal life narrative.
