Posttraumatic personality disorder: a reformulation of complex posttraumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
Nigel P Field
Publications and source records attributed to Nigel P Field.
Continuing bonds in adaptation to bereavement: introduction.
The role of the continuing bond to the deceased in adjustment to bereavement has been given considerable attention in the bereavement literature. It is increasingly recognized that it is a normative part of adjustment to the loss of a loved one and that it can be adaptive. It may be the case however that a continuing bond to the deceased may also be maladaptive under certain conditions. In this special topic series of articles, the implications of a continuing bond for adjustment to bereavement is addressed. Conceptually and empirically focused papers as well as clinically oriented papers on the continuing bond to the deceased have been included in order to provide the reader with a broad sampling of contemporary work in this area. The aim is to inspire further thinking and research on this topic as well as to promote greater awareness among grief counselors and practitioners on the importance of the continuing bond to the deceased in working with the bereaved.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Unresolved grief and continuing bonds: an attachment perspective.
Much of the contemporary bereavement literature on the continuing bond to the deceased (CB) has emphasized its adaptiveness and given limited attention to when it may be maladaptive. The attachment literature on disorganized-unresolved attachment classification in relation to loss, or "unresolved loss," is informative in identifying CB expressions that are indicative of failure to integrate the death of a loved one. In this article, an important linkage is identified between a prominent indicator of unresolved loss that involves a lapse in the monitoring of reasoning implying disbelief that the person is dead and the clinical writings of J. Bowlby (1980) and V. D. Volkan (1981) on maladaptive variants of CB expression. The aim is to highlight the value of the attachment literature on unresolved loss in clarifying the conditions under which CB is likely to be maladaptive.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Impact of current grief on memory for past grief in spousal bereavement.
This study examined the impact of changes in level of current grief over time on changes in memory for past grief. Following from previous work on the impact of current affective state on memory for past affectively salient events, bereaved individuals who underwent a greater reduction in grief over time were expected to show a similar pattern of changes in memory for past grief. A sample of conjugally bereaved participants completed measures of current grief and memory for past grief at the time of the loss of their spouse at each of the 2, 6, 13, and 30 month post-loss time periods. As predicted, those who reported greater reduction in grief over the course of the study were more likely to remember their past grief as progressively less severe relative to those who underwent less reduction in grief over time. A nonrecursive causal model analysis verified that changes in memory for past grief were explained by changes in current grief. These results were discussed in terms of contemporary reconstructive memory accounts of the effect of affective state on memory.
Aged↗
Anticipating loss and other temporal stressors predict traumatic stress symptoms among partners of metastatic/recurrent breast cancer patients.
This study examined pre- and post-loss levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms (intrusion and avoidance) in partners of metastatic/recurrent breast cancer patients, and the relationship of these symptoms to past, current, and anticipatory stressors. The results indicate that 34% (17/50) of the partners experienced clinically significant symptom levels prior to the patients' deaths. Prior to loss, partners' symptoms were positively associated with their current level of perceived stress and anticipated impact of the loss; whereas following loss, partners' symptoms were predicted by higher pre-loss levels of symptoms, past family deaths, and anticipated impact of the loss. Limitations and treatment implications of the present research and directions for future research are discussed.
Adult↗
Continuing bonds in bereavement: an attachment theory based perspective.
An attachment theory based perspective on the continuing bond to the deceased (CB) is proposed. The value of attachment theory in specifying the normative course of CB expression and in identifying adaptive versus maladaptive variants of CB expression based on their deviation from this normative course is outlined. The role of individual differences in attachment security on effective versus ineffective use of CB in coping with bereavement also is addressed. Finally, the moderating influence of type of loss (e.g., death of a spouse vs. child), culture, and religion on type of CB expression within an overarching attachment framework is discussed.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Unresolved grief in combat veterans with PTSD.
Clinicians have documented the importance of loss of comrades during combat as a significant source of distress. However, empirical studies have not focused on unresolved grief as a possible outcome of combat experiences. Consequently, unresolved grief has often been treated "after the fact" in the context of treating PTSD and depressive symptoms. In this study, we therefore, sought to demonstrate the prominence of combat-related grief-specific symptoms in a sample of Vietnam veterans being treated for PTSD. Our results indicated that indeed this sample of veterans reported high levels of grief-specific symptoms comparable to that found in bereaved individuals whose spouse had recently died, verifying its prominence as an important component of combat-related stress. Furthermore, grief severity was uniquely associated with losses of comrades during combat whereas no such relationship was shown for trauma or depressive symptoms. The latter finding suggested that in fact higher levels of grief stemmed from interpersonal losses during the war and was not simply an artifact of current general distress level.
Bereavement↗
Continuing bonds in coping with the death of a husband.
This study examined the continuing bond (CB) to the deceased in coping with the death of a husband. Fifteen early-bereaved widows whose husband had died 4 months previously and 15 later-bereaved widows whose husband had died more than 2 years ago were electronically signaled every 3 hours to complete a set of measures that included the PANAS positive and negative mood scales and CB coping. Participants completed these measures 4 times each day for 14 successive days. Following from an attachment theory perspective on the role of CB in providing felt security, it was hypothesized that CB would be effective as a way of coping in mood regulation, but that its effectiveness would be moderated by time since the death. Consistent with predictions, a positive within-person relationship was found between CB coping and positive mood for the later-bereaved group, but not for early-bereaved widows. CB coping was also positively related to negative mood for both early, and later-bereaved widow groups, however. Finally, in a lagged analysis, greater use of CB was predictive of a shift toward more negative mood among early-bereaved widows, but not for later-bereaved widows. The results were discussed in the context of previous literature on the function of CB in adaptation to bereavement.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Continuing bonds and adjustment at 5 years after the death of a spouse.
Thirty-nine bereaved individuals completed the Continuing Bonds Scale (CBS), assessing various aspects of the ongoing attachment to the deceased, at 60 months postloss in a longitudinal conjugal bereavement study. They also completed symptom measures at 6, 14, 25, and 60 months postloss. Higher CBS scores were associated with a more elevated grief-specific symptom pattern over the 5-year postloss period. Moreover, those who expressed greater helplessness and less blame toward the deceased during a monologue role-play involving their deceased spouse at 6 months postloss had higher CBS scores. Finally, greater satisfaction in the past relationship with the spouse was predictive of higher CBS scores. The results were discussed in relation to existing literature on the adaptiveness of continuing bonds.
Adult↗