Resilience in Time of Grief

People who do not display overt grief after the death of a spouse are often thought to be unfeeling or hardhearted. New research suggests that such people may, in fact, be more resilient and have a healthier view of the world.

Such survivors tend to have a greater acceptance of death and a belief that the world is just and fair, according to research by psychologist George A. Bonanno at Columbia University. He led a team of scientists in tracking grieving people.

"We found no evidence in our analyses to support the widely held assumption that the resilient group was actually comprised of maladjusted individuals," Bonanno said in a statement released by the university.

Such people might actually be harmed by therapy, Bonanno said, because it could cause them to "focus on issues they had already dealt with or by undermining their natural coping strategies."

The conclusion is based on a study that tracked people before they experienced a loss and followed them for 18 months afterward. It is to be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

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