Handbook of Bereavement: Theory, Research, and Intervention / Edition 1

by Margaret S. Stroebe, Wolfgang Stroebe, Robert O. Hansson

Overview

Does the concept of a broken heart have some grounding in reality? Can grief affect the body in ways that necessitate medical care and may even be life-threatening? Scholars from diverse disciplines report on research and explore key issues in this comprehensive review of scientific knowledge on the consequences of losing a loved person through death. Detailed coverage is given to the phenomenology of grief, distinctions between normal and pathological grief, and measurement and assessment techniques. Current theories are reviewed and underlying physiological mechanisms are surveyed, which help explain why the bereaved are highly vulnerable to ill health. Analyses also go beyond the consideration of marital bereavement to consider many different types of loss, including the special cases of bereavement among AIDS survivors and Holocaust survivors. Evaluations are provided of the availability and efficacy of many different types of support for bereaved people, ranging from informal help to self-help groups to various counseling and therapy intervention programs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521448536
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/26/1993
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	562
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.14(d)

About the Author

Stroebe, Margaret S. (Univ of Utrecht); Stroebe, Wolfgang (Univ of Utrecht); Hansson, Robert O. (Univ of Tulsa)

The contributors are an international, interdisciplinary group of scholars representing the U.S., Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, England, and Australia from the fields of psychology, psychiatry, medicine, social sciences, and public health.

Table of Contents

Part I. Introduction: 1. Bereavement research and theory: an introduction to the Handbook Margaret S. Stoebe, Wolfgang Stroebe, and Robert O. Hansson; Part II. The Phenomenology and Measurement of Grief: 2. The course of normal grief Stephen R. Shuchter, and Sidney Zisook; 3. Pathological grief reactions Warwick Middleton, Beverly Raphael, Nada Martinek, and Vivienne Misso; 4. Measurement issues in bereavement Robert O. Hansson, Bruce N. Carpenter, and Sharon K. Fairchild; Part III. Current Theories of Grief, Mourning, and Bereavement: 5. Grief as an emotion and as disease: a social-constructionist perspective James R. Averill, and Elma P. Nunley; 6. Bereavement as a psychosocial transition: processes of adaptation to change Colin Murray Parkes; 7. Grief: the social context of private feelings Paul C. Rosenblatt; 8. Bereavement from the perspective of cognitive-experiential self-theory Seymour Epstein; Part IV. Physiological Changes Following Bereavement: 9. Biobehavioral consequences of loss in nonhuman primates: individual differences Mark L. Laudenslager, Maria L. Boccia, and Martin L. Reite; 10. Neuroendocrine changes following bereavement Kathleen Kim, and Selby Jacobs; 11. Bereavement, depressive symptoms, and immune function Michael Irwin, and Jennifer Pike; Part V. The Psychological, Social, and Health Impacts of Conjugal Bereavement: 12. The mortality of bereavement: a review Margaret S. Stroebe, and Wolfgang Stroebe; 13. Psychological resilience among widowed men and women: a 10-year follow-up of a national sample Robert R. McCrae, and Paul T. Costa, Jr; 14. Determinants of adjustment to bereavement in younger widows and widowers Wolfgang Stroebe, and Margaret S. Stoebe; 15. The impact of spousal bereavement on older widows and widowers Dolores Gallagher-Thompson, Andrew Futterman, Norman Farberow, Larry W. Thompson, and James Peterson; 16. The course of spousal bereavement in later life Dale A. Lund, Michael S. Caserta, and Margaret F. Dimond; 17. Risk factors in bereavement outcome Catherine M. Sanders; Part VI. Grief Reactions to Different Types of Loss: 18. Loss and recovery Robert S. Weiss; 19. The death of a child is forever: the life course impact of child loss Simon Shimshon Rubin; 20. Children's reactions to the death of a parent Phyllis R. Silverman, and J. William Worden; 21. Bereavement following death from AIDS: unique problems, reactions, and special needs John L. Martin, and Laura Dean; 22. Sleep and dreams in well-adjusted and less adjusted Holocaust survivors Hanna Kaminer, and Peretz Lavie; Part VII. Coping, Counseling, and Therapy: 23. The meaning of loss and adjustment to bereavement Camille B. Wortman, Roxane Cohen Silver, and Ronald C. Kessler; 24. Old age and widowhood: issues of personal control and independence Robert O. Hansson, Jacqueline H. Remondet, and Marlene Galusha; 25. The support systems of American urban widows Helena Znaniecka Lopata; 26. The role of social support in bereavement Stanley K. Stylianos, and Mary L. S. Vachon; 27. Bereavemnet self-help groups: a review of conceptual and methodological issues Morton A. Lieberman; 28. Counseling and therapy of the bereaved Beverly Raphael, Warwick Middleton, Nada Martinek, and Vivienne Misso; Part VIII. Conclusions: 29. Contemporary themes and controversies in bereavement research Margaret S. Stroebe, Robert O. Hansson, and Wolfgang Stroebe.

Editorial Reviews

"The reader of this book may be tempted—and rightly so—to call it the most comprehensive, thorough, and authoritative volume written on the subject in many years....Research design is particularly crucial, with sample selection, measures, instruments, biases, the main effects-interactions dilemma, and the heterogeneity of the concommitant psychopathology being outstanding issues." Renato D. Alarcon, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease

"...an important resource in finding that understanding balance between objectivity and experience." Ann Weber, Contemporary Psychology

"...a scholarly and comprehensive work which accomplishes the editors' stated objective...a worthwhile resource for bereavement issues and concerns." Cathy Coyle, Social Work in Health Care

"...a unique, research-based volume which provides readers with an up-to-date account of knowledge about bereavement's impact, and its emotional, physical, and social effects....Drawing on the work of leading researchers from around the world, the Handbook of Bereavement is a scholarly volume which presents cutting edge information about the nature and consequences of this deeply personal experience." Noetic Sciences Review

"The editors are to be commended for the quality of the contributions they solicited and assembled....The book is mandatory reading for individuals desiring a thorough coverage of the current knowledge in the field of bereavement. Although advanced in its treatment of topics, I would recommend this handbook as a starting point for anyone interested in the field of thanatology. The critical analyses offered by the various contributors move the reader beyond a superficial understanding of the material. In a field in which the literature often appears to be part of a maze with few connecting points, Stroebe and her colleagues provide a valuable template for conceptualizing and interpreting additional material that the reader may encounter." Alicia Skinner Cook, source????

From the Publisher

Reviewer: Suzanne B. Yellen, PhD (Rush Medical College of Rush University)
Description: This book is intended as a comprehensive review of bereavement, ranging from varied empirical-theoretical perspectives and work to practical applications in managing bereavement.
Purpose: The purpose is to present a synthesis of international, interdisciplinary perspectives on bereavement, focusing on the phenomenology and measurement of grief, current theoretical perspectives, physiological and psychological consequences, reactions to different types of loss, and counseling. This book is useful because it focuses more on research findings than on clinical work with the bereaved person. It is less useful in terms of its focus on social policy as it relates to intervention andtreatment.
Audience: The book is targeted for researchers and practitioners from a variety of disciplines, among them anthropology, epidemiology, sociology, psychology, and medicine. However, there is a greater focus on research issues than on practical applications of research for clinical work with the bereaved person. This book is most appropriate for graduate students or as an introduction into research on bereavement.
Features: The overall appearance of the handbook is adequate. Tables and the relatively few illustrations are easily understood and add to the text. References are fairly current and extensive, particularly as they relate to empirical work, but less so for various clinical theories of bereavement and grief. A helpful feature is the organization into sections, which makes it unnecessary for the reader who is interested in only one aspect of bereavement to review the entire book.
Assessment: This book represents a good first attempt to combine research from different areas of bereavement into one comprehensive handbook. As such, it is more useful for the researcher than for the clinician. It would be appropriate for academic libraries and bookstores in academic institutions.

Doody's Review Service

3 Stars from Doody