Attachment Theory and Multiple Dimensions of Grief

Abstract

In this article data from questionnaires completed by acutely bereaved widows and widowers were examined to identify the dimensions of psychological distress associated with bereavement. Using factor analysis, four factors that were meaningfully understood within the framework of attachment theory were found. These findings were consistent with the idea that grief is not a simple, decrescendoing emotional state, but rather a complex, evolving process with multiple dimensions. Our observations on the subjective distress of bereavement were related to other recently developed structured assessments of grief that are now available for the study of bereavement.