Toward the Development of a Theory of Bereavement Guilt: Sources of Guilt in Bereaved Parents

Guilt has been reported as a common manifestation of grief, yet bereavement guilt is poorly understood & has not been adquately incorporated into bereavement theory. As a first step in the development of a theory of bereavement guilt, this article presents a conceptual model of sources of guilt in bereaved parents. This model identifies 5 sources of guilt: Cultural Role Guilt, Death Causation Guilt, Moral Guilt, Survivor Guilt & Recovery Guilt. 28 bereaved parents were studied.