Loss, Grief, and the Search for Significance: Toward a Model of Meaning Reconstruction in Bereavement

“In addition to Hogan, Greenfield and Schmidt’s (2001) Personal Growth factor on the Hogan Grief Reactions Checklist, Calhoun, Tedeschi, Park, and their colleagues have developed two scales for assessing “posttraumatic growth”: the Stress-Related Growth Scale (Park, Cohen, & Murch, 1996) and the better studied Posttrau…”

“…and their own lives as worthwhile; and (f) This process, when successful, leads to better adjustment to the stressful event (for reviews, see Collie & Long, 2005; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Greenberg, 1995; Lee, Cohen, Edgar, Laizner, & Gagnon, 2004; O’Connor, 2002; Skaggs & Barron, 2006).”

“Collective trauma, however, does not necessarily have a negative impact on group identity and cohesion and often bolsters affiliation with the group through a feeling of shared fate and destiny – an integration of the traumatic experience into one’s identity and narrative (Gillies and Neimeyer, 2006).”

“Alternatively, grief-related distress and attempts to seek security and significance could influence one another in an ongoing iterative process (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006).”

“Sense-making as a crucial component of restoration initially emerged from the work of Janoff-Bulman and Frantz (1997) with trauma victims.”

“Nonetheless, based on the work of Janoff-Bulman and Frantz (1997), important distinctions have been drawn between ‘‘sense-making’’ and ‘‘benefit-finding’’ in adapting to bereavement (Davis, Nolen-Hoeksema, & Larson, 1998; Holland, Currier, & Neimeyer, 2006; Murphy et al.”

“…(Park & Folkman, 1997), important distinctions have been drawn between two forms of meaningmaking, namely “sense-making” and “benefit-finding” (Davis & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2001; Davis, Nolen-Hoeksema, & Larson, 1998; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Janoff-Bulman & Frantz, 1997; Neimeyer & Anderson, 2002).”

“In short, Robert Neimeyer and his many collaborators have demonstrated that sudden deaths, like suicides, are shocking and compel individuals to make sense of them, to sift through available meanings as part of the bereavement process (Gillies and Neimeyer, 2006; Neimeyer et al., 2014).”

“Future studies should focus on developing reliable measures of meaning-making constructs (see Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006).”

“Primary to African-American religious convictions regarding death is the belief that death is not a final ending but instead is part of the continuum of life, a transition between one world and the next (Barrett, 1998).”

“Indeed, it has been suggested that for those who need intervention following bereavement, what is most needed is help to reconstruct their beliefs, ways of making meaning, and understanding of their place in the world (Cann et al., 2010; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006).”

“Meaning making is seen as central in recovering from highly stressful experiences such as bereavement, cancer, and traumatic events (see Davis, Wortman, Lehman, & Silver, 2000; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Janoff-Bulman, 1989, 1992).”

“Identity reconstruction in bereavement is often associated with personal or posttraumatic growth (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2006 ; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006 ), and it has been observed that identity change is most frequently reported to be existential in character (Matthews & Marwit, 2006 ).”

“This process refers to structures of preloss meaning (e.g., perceptions of self, outlook on the future, or view of the world) that are reevaluated, renewed, and rebuilt into a structure of postloss meaning on part of the survivor (see Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006, p. 54).”

“…to revisit the ‘‘event story’’ of the death and the ‘‘back story’’ of the relationship with the deceased, optimally in such a way that the survivor identifies a compensatory sense of growth or benefit in their loss experience (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Neimeyer, 2001; Neimeyer & Sands, 2011).”

“…basic beliefs that comprise these frameworks is widely seen as a particularly problematic aspect of profound or traumatic loss, occasioning both subjective distress and active efforts to assimilate or accommodate the disruption (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; JanoffBulman, 1992; Park & Folkman, 1997).”

“Much contemporary work in grief (e.g., Davis, Nolen-Hoeksema, & Larson, 1998; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Keesee, Currier, & Neimeyer, 2008; Nadeau, 2008; Neimeyer, Prigerson, & Davies, 2002) considers the role of meaning and meaning-making in one’s experience of stress, loss, or adversity.”

“Grief can operationally be used to account for the resolution of the loss of nontangible facets such as hope, control, and purpose.(42) Inability to recognize these “losses” because of their intangible nature made it harder for parents to confront them.”

“At this time, there is no universal certainty about the bereavement experience resultant from the death of a loved one, however, some changes in the individual are recognised as being inevitable (Gillies & Neimeyer 2006).”

“Although many conceptualizations of meaning-making have been proposed (see Park, 2010, for a review), the model that best fits our results of how parents cognitively process the death of their child is the meaning reconstruction model proposed by Gillies and Neimeyer (2006).”

“According to Gillies and Neimeyer (2006), current grief theory asserts that loss often fosters a transition in the bereaved person’s sense of self.”

“For example, Tedeschi and Calhoun ( 2004 ) discuss benefit finding in the context of post-traumatic growth, Gillies and Neimeyer ( 2006 ) posited benefit finding as one of three meaning reconstruction processes in response to significant loss, and drawing on a stress and coping framework, Park and Folkman ( 1997 ) con…”

“E-mail: jcurrier@memphis.edu Journal of Loss and Trauma, 14:181–195, 2009 Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1532-5024 print=1532-5032 online DOI: 10.1080/15325020802537153 181 (Folkman, 2001; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Neimeyer, 2001, 2002, 2006; Thompson & Janigan, 1988).”

“Meaning making is often a key aspect of adjustment following bereavement and other stressful events (for reviews, see Davis, Wortman, Lehman, & Silver, 2000; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Neimeyer & Sands, 2011).”

“Still, many face the same or similar challenges, such as coping with emotional pain or setting new goals and finding renewed purpose in life, finding meaning in the death and maintaining a bond with the deceased (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Stroebe et al., 2017).”

“If a loss cannot be easily integrated into one's existing sense of self, it represents a significant threat to one's self-worth and sense of self in the world (eg, Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006 ; Neimeyer, Prigerson, & Davies, 2002 ; Park, 2010 ).”

“Gillies and Neimeyer (2006) discussed how significant losses disrupt the coherence of life, calling for active attempts to (a) make sense of the loss, (b) find some sort of ‘‘silver lining’’ or benefit in the experience, and (c) reorganize one’s identity as bereaved.”

“However, presencesensing challenges not only the individualistic and rationalistic climate of contemporary secular Western culture but also many religious understandings regarding relationships beyond death.”

“Acknowledging and seating identity change is an important reconstructive task in bereavement (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006) especially for bereaved parents (Riches & Dawson, 1996).”

“(13-15) Donor families aimed to create meaning with a coherent narrative to explain why tragedy occurs in a world that is congruent with their values and beliefs.(16, 17) This finding suggests deep-rooted cultural support for organ donation as a highly respected and admirable endeavor.”

“When attempts at making sense of the loss, finding some form of silver lining in the dark cloud of bereavement, and rebuilding a sense of self without the loved one fail, however, exacerbation of distress and coping attempts marked by rigid and recurrent cycles of thought can result (Gillies and Neimeyer, 2006).”

“Identity reconstruction refers to a reorganization of one’s sense of self after the loss of a loved one (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Neimeyer et al., 2006).”

“For example, Tedeschi and Calhoun (2004) discuss sense making in the context of posttraumatic growth, Gillies and Neimeyer (2006) posited sense making as one of three meaning reconstruction processes in response to significant loss (the other two being benefit finding and identity change) and…”

“They have experienced loss of MiL and have started to change their framework of how to experience MiL (as evidenced by the different types of MiL areas and the overall lower certainty about what is important to them), but have not yet achieved satisfactory fulfillment within their new framework [51].”

“Gillies and Neimeyer (2006) proposed the meaning reconstruction model of bereavement to examine how people attempt to reaffirm a world of meaning that has been challenged by the loss.”

“Others talk of how grief involves “meaning-making,” repairing an “assumptive world,” and “relearning the world” (Attig, 2011; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006).”

“…on cognitive processing (Park & Helgeson, 2006), such as rumination (Tedeschi, Park, & Calhoun, 1998a, 1998b), accommodation and assimilation (Joseph & Linley, 2005), meaning reconstruction (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Neimeyer, 2000, 2001), and positive appraisal and coping (Schaefer & Moos, 2001).”

“Individuals coping with or recovering from highly stressful or traumatic events often attempt to find meaning in their experiences (Davis et al. 2000; Gillies and Neimeyer 2006; Janoff-Bulman 2004; Triplett et al. 2012).”

“As described previously (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006 ; Wimpenny, 2006), some participants reported recurring memories, thoughts, and images of the deceased even after a considerable time had lapsed since death.”

“Yet researchers in the bereavement field have noted that empirical studies linking personality to the functions and effects of telling stories of loss have yet to be conducted (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Harvey et al., 2001).”

“Rebuilding the self can resolve this existential dilemma (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006).”

“In contrast, the memorial body may call instead for a narrative or other types of meaning re-construction (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006).”

“18 These two predominant bereavement theories are complementary.”

“…life events focus mainly on cognitive processing (Park & Helgeson, 2006), such as rumination (Tedeschi, Park, & Calhoun, 1998), accommodation and assimilation (Joseph & Linley, 2005), meaning reconstruction (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006) as well as positive appraisal and coping (Schaefer & Moos, 2001).”

“Similarly, constructivist theories of grief have heavily emphasized meaning reconstruction as the development of a coherent life narrative within which losses make sense (e.g., Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Nadeau, 1998).”

“In Western culture, the loss of a child in particular may provoke a dissonance in one’s meaning structures, triggering a complex process of search for meaning, and leading to feelings of shock, anger, and disbelief (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006).”

“Meaning making was found to be central in recovering from stressful experiences such as bereavement, illness, and terrorist attacks (Gillies and Neimeyer, 2006; Kernan and Lepore, 2009; Park et al., 2012).”

“(1) order or comprehensibility in difficult circumstances (which may include but is not restricted to causal and selective incidence attributions), and (2) purpose or benefits (Davis et al. 1998; Gillies and Neimeyer 2006; JanoffBulman and Frantz 1997; Thompson and Janigian 1988; Yalom 1980).”

“…framework crisis that becomes an important activator in the construction and transformation of meaning (Del Vecchio Good, Munakata, Kobayashi, Mattingly, & Good, 1994; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Hall, 2011; Martino, Onorato, & Freda, 2015; Pals & McAdams, 2004; Waters, Shallcross, & Fivush, 2013).”

“…having permanent effects, often leading to positive psychological changes including resilience, empathy and independence, is well-established in the bereavement literature, with such ‘identity change’ constituting a key part of meaning-making and recovery (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006, Rando, 1993).”

“Making meaning thus becomes central to adaptation to lifethreatening illnesses [10, 11], and searching for a positive Hindawi”

“when dealing with traumatic events (Gillies and Neimeyer, 2006; Hall, 2011; Waters et al., 2013; Freda and Martino, 2015) and can explain health outcomes and symptom reduction (Tolstikova et al.”

“[29]), including literature on the DPM and MRL Framework [30,31,33,34,46,47].”

“Drawing on posttraumatic growth literature, we think that perceived meaningfulness, self-worth, and self-efficacy among local relief officials might prove conducive to coping with trauma and loss (Folkman, 2008; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Zoellner & Maercker, 2006).”

“Although experiencing the death of a loved one can create intense distress and even lead to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (eg, Murphy, Johnson, Chung, & Beaton, 2003 ), it can also spur personal transformations for some bereaved individuals (eg, Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006 ; Janoff-Bulman & Berg, 1998…”

“Further, theorists suggest that distress is a necessary aspect of meaning making, in that it propels a search for meaning ( Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006 ).”

“From a constructivist standpoint, the way in which an individual construes or ‘‘makes sense’’ of the loss of a loved one and life afterward is directly related to adjustment outcomes (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006).”

“Similar to the constructivist theory of loss (Neimeyer, 2001; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006), participants in this study made meaning of their situations.”

“Some authors have argued that meaning-making is important for adjusting to stressful events, such as bereavement (e.g. Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006) and illness (e.g. Lanceley et al., 2012; see references in Park, 2010).”

“…focus on meaningmaking processes when dealing with narratives about a traumatic event, because suffering and distress are shattering experiences that trigger and are themselves active processes of meaning remaking after a negative event (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Hall, 2011; Waters et al., 2013).”

“Identifying factors that facilitate benefit finding is important, because these factors can play an important role in adjustment after bereavement (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006 ).”

“These studies align with research on bereavement and other stressors indicating that constructing a benign understanding of the stressor, frequently framed in spiritual or philosophical terms, tends to be linked with better adjustment (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Park, 2010; Park & Folkman, 1997).”

“Meaning Reconstruction Theory is an explanatory model of mourning (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Park, 2010).”

“It is important to understand how individuals appraise and make meaning of their stroke and the strategies they employ to support successful adjustment (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; White, 2004).”

“…research has focused on the meaning individuals assign to loss (i.e., appraised meaning of loss) and its relationship with bereavement adjustment (e.g., Boyraz, Horne, & Sayger, 2012; Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Lichtenthal, Currier, Neimeyer, & Keesee, 2010; Michael & Snyder, 2005; Neimeyer, 2000).”

“Meaning attribution comprises integration of the loss in the bereaved survivor’s life story, identity change, and a new future orientation (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006; Janoff-Bulman & Pherson Frantz, 1997).”

“Recognizing the powerful effects of sense-making, benefit-finding, and identity reconstruction (Gillies & Neimeyer, 2006), we emphasize these aspects of constructivist psychology in the midst of secularized Buddhist teachings.”