Investigating Adaptive Grieving Styles: A Delphi Study

Abstract

There has been an evolution in the understanding of the nature of grief since S. Freud's initial work, Mourning and Melancholia (1917/1953). Mental health practitioners and researchers have established new models to aid in the conceptualization and treatment of grief issues. The purpose of this study was to examine the opinions of experts in the field of grief regarding elements of a new model of adult bereavement, Martin and Doka's (2000) adaptive grieving styles, using the Delphi Method to identify points of consensus. A survey of 20 experts in the field of thanatology reached consensus on 21 items in which the panelists addressed the uniqueness of the griever, recognized there are multiple factors that influence the grieving process (i.e., culture, personality, and gender), that most bereaved individuals use both cognitive and affective strategies in adapting to bereavement, and that bereaved individuals experience both internal and external pressures to grieve in particular ways.

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