Grief & Bereavement Theory Flashcards

Which type of grief involves mourning that begins before an anticipated death?

Answer: Anticipatory grief

Anticipatory grief refers to the mourning process that begins prior to an expected death, such as during a terminal illness diagnosis.

In traumatic bereavement, which element most distinguishes it from ordinary grief?

Answer: The death was sudden, violent, or unexpected

Traumatic bereavement is distinguished by the traumatic nature of the death — sudden, violent, or unexpected circumstances that overwhelm normal coping capacities.

The 'working through' concept in psychodynamic grief theory was originally proposed by:

Answer: Sigmund Freud in 'Mourning and Melancholia'

Freud's 1917 essay 'Mourning and Melancholia' introduced the idea that grief requires psychological work to withdraw libidinal energy from the lost object.

A hospice social worker notes that a widower shows no emotional response six months after his wife's death. According to Lindemann, this may indicate:

Answer: Absent or inhibited grief that may emerge later

Lindemann described absent or inhibited grief as a morbid grief reaction in which emotions are suppressed and may emerge delayed or in disguised form.

According to Neimeyer, when a death violates a person's life narrative, effective grief work involves:

Answer: Revising the narrative to integrate the loss

Neimeyer's meaning reconstruction model holds that adaptive grieving requires reauthoring one's life narrative to create a coherent story that incorporates the loss.

Which of the following BEST describes 'masked grief' as categorized by Rando?

Answer: Grief expressed through physical symptoms or behavioral problems

Masked grief, as a form of complicated mourning, presents through somatic symptoms or maladaptive behaviors rather than overt emotional expression.

The 'tasks of mourning' model differs from stage theories primarily because it:

Answer: Implies active participation rather than passive progression

Task models, such as Worden's, frame mourning as requiring the bereaved's active engagement rather than assuming passive movement through predetermined stages.