The Role of Linking Objects in Parental Bereavement

Because linking objects in mourning were first described by Volkan (1972) in the context of pathological grieving, they have been associated with complicated mourning. This descriptive study surveyed forty-nine bereaved parents to assess the existence, characteristics, and function of linking objects in parental bereavement. A majority of the participants reported linking objects. The objects fit into the same categories as those described by Volkan. However, whereas Volkan described ambivalence toward linking objects in his patients, the bereaved parents did not treat their objects in an ambivalent manner. There were no indications in the data that linking objects served as obstacles in the mourning process, as suggested by Volkan. The parents reported that the objects were meaningful, important, and provided a connection with their dead child.