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The Role of Blame in Adaptation in the First 5 Years Following the Death of a Spouse

Pacific Graduate School of Psychology

GEORGE A. BONANNO

Teachers College, Columbia University

At 6 months postloss, 37 midlife bereaved participants engaged in an empty-chair monologue role play involving their deceased spouses. Judges rated the extent of self- and deceased-blame in participants' monologue discourse, and forms of continuing attachment to the deceased were assessed. Participants completed outcome measures at 14, 25, and 60 months postloss. Self-blame was uniquely predictive of grief-specific symptoms across 60 months postloss. Furthermore, the relationship between self-blame and grief-specific symptoms was mediated by a maladaptive form of continuing attachment involving hanging onto the deceased's possessions. In contrast, deceased-blame was uniquely related to general symptoms at 14 months postloss but was not predictive of symptoms later on after the death. It was also negatively related to use of the fond memories form of continuing attachment. The results were interpreted in terms of differing motivational consequences of self- versus deceased-blame on the continuing attachment.

American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 44, No. 5, 764-781 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/00027640121956485


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