“We’ve had the Same Loss, why Don’t we Have the Same Grief?” Loss and Differential Grief in Families

One of the assumptions held by family members may be that because they have lost the same individual their grief should be the same. Alternatively, some may also assume that their experience of the loss is more significant than that of the other family members. Bowlby has suggested that successful completion of the grief process requires marital partners grieve in tandem. Couples who expressed a positive view of each other and their relationship reported little relational conflict.