Searching for Meaning in Loss: are Clinical Assumptions Correct?

3 assumptions guiding research & clinical intervention strategies for people coping with sudden, traumatic loss are described. The authors review existing empirical research addressing these assumptions & present evidence from a study of 124 parents coping with the death of their infant & a study of 93 adults coping with the loss of their spouse or child to a motor vehicle accident. Results indicate: a significant subset of individuals do not search for meaning & yet appear relatively well-adjusted to their loss; less than half of the respondents in each study report finding any meaning in their loss, even more than a year after the event; & those who find meaning do not put this issue aside & move on. Implications for research & clinical interventions are discussed. (83 refs.)