This investigation examines the incidence of recent bereavement in the pre-illness histories of patients admitted to a psychiatric clinic & to determine whether & among what patients, this exceeds the incidence of bereavement which could have been expected to occur by chance. Results show that loss of a spouse is a causative factor in the development of mental illness. It was also found that women are more inclined than men to develop mental illnesses following bereavement. (17 Refs.)