The continuing bond of the bereaved towards the deceased and adjustment to loss

The nature of the ongoing bond between the bereaved and the deceased has attracted some considerable attention in recent years. Early theorists proposed that the continuing maintenance of such a bond is indicative of a failure to adjust to the loss, whereas more recent work has questioned the validity of this position. Problematic within these opposing positions is the fact that many different theorists and researchers have operationalized the notion of “continuing bonds” in different ways, and consequently have found different relationships with adjustment. The current study investigated the different types of ongoing bonds endorsed by a group of spousally-bereaved participants (n = 45), and by subjecting the results to principal components analysis found three independent facets of continuing bonds: sensing the presence of the deceased, communicating with the deceased and re-living the relationship, and dreaming of and yearning for the deceased. Each of these factors was found to have a different relationship with various indices of current adjustment, and the clinical implications of these are considered.