Stages of Grief Theory Put to the Test

Researchers find the bereaved do go through stages, but not necessarily as expected

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

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TUESDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- New research challenges and confirms some of the commonly held beliefs about the process of grieving.

The study found that for older people mourning a death by natural causes, a yearning or pining for the lost loved one, and an acceptance of their loss, come first in the grieving process.

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That's at odds with the standard "five stages of grief " theory held by psychologists that lists disbelief, yearning, anger, depression and acceptance as the phases of emotions bereaved individuals typically pass through.

Instead, "this study basically shows that yearning is the dominant negative grief symptom following the loss, not disbelief, sadness or depression," said Holly Prigerson, director of the Center for Psycho-Oncology and Palliative Care Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. "And, overall, the main reaction was a high degree of acceptance," she added.

The researchers found that soon after a death, acceptance becomes the most commonly felt emotion for the bereaved, rather than the expected disbelief or depression. Acceptance is also the last emotion to reach its peak, they noted.

The study is published in the Feb. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The researchers also found that negative emotions such as anger had largely peaked by six months after the loss. This suggests that if someone seems stuck in their grief after this time period, they may be having a more difficult time coping with their loss and may need counseling or additional support.

The five stages of grief theory has evolved over time but originally was developed as a four-stage theory of grief: shock-numbness, yearning-searching, disorganization-despair and reorganization. Then, world-renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross wrote a book called On Death and Dying, which adapted the four-stages of grief into a five-stage response of the terminally ill to their impending death. This work evolved into the five stages of grief commonly recognized today, according to background information in the study.

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