CBP Theories of Grief and Loss 2 ā Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the Dual Process Model, 'taking time off from grief' by engaging in everyday activities is best understood as:
- Pathological avoidance requiring clinical intervention
- Restoration-oriented coping that is a healthy part of oscillation (Correct answer)
- A sign of inhibited or masked grief
- Equivalent to the denial stage in KĆ¼bler-Ross's model
Correct answer: Restoration-oriented coping that is a healthy part of oscillation
The Dual Process Model views temporary distraction through restoration-oriented activities as adaptive oscillation, not avoidance or denial.
Question 2: Worden's Task Iā'accepting the reality of the loss'āprimarily addresses the bereaved person's tendency to:
- Isolate from social relationships
- Experience intense anger at the deceased or others
- Deny or minimize that the death actually occurred (Correct answer)
- Over-rely on spiritual or religious practices as coping
Correct answer: Deny or minimize that the death actually occurred
Task I involves overcoming the natural tendency to deny or minimize the reality, permanence, and significance of the death.
Question 3: The most common criticism of stage-based grief theories, such as KĆ¼bler-Ross's five stages, is that they:
- Entirely ignore the emotional dimensions of grief
- Apply only to children rather than adults
- Imply a fixed, linear sequence that does not reflect real individual variation (Correct answer)
- Focus too heavily on cultural and spiritual differences
Correct answer: Imply a fixed, linear sequence that does not reflect real individual variation
The primary critique is that stage models imply a rigid, universal sequence, whereas research consistently shows grief is highly individual and non-linear.
Question 4: George Bonanno's longitudinal research on bereavement most significantly contributed the finding that:
- All bereaved individuals require professional grief therapy to recover
- Resilience is rare and usually indicates emotional suppression
- A substantial portion of bereaved people are naturally resilient and do not develop prolonged grief (Correct answer)
- Complicated grief affects the majority of bereaved individuals
Correct answer: A substantial portion of bereaved people are naturally resilient and do not develop prolonged grief
Bonanno demonstrated that resilienceāmaintaining stable functioning after loss without prolonged griefāis the most common trajectory, not the exception.
Question 5: The 'assumptive world' concept in grief theoryāassociated with Parkes and Janoff-Bulmanārefers to:
- The spiritual beliefs a griever holds about the afterlife
- Internalized assumptions about the world that loss can shatter, requiring reconstruction (Correct answer)
- The social support network assumed to be available after bereavement
- Assumptions therapists make when assessing a grieving client
Correct answer: Internalized assumptions about the world that loss can shatter, requiring reconstruction
The assumptive world comprises deeply held beliefs about safety, meaning, and order that major loss can challenge or shatter, necessitating psychological reconstruction.
Question 6: Wortman and Silver's influential research challenged common grief assumptions by finding that:
- Grief is universally resolved within two years for most people
- The 'necessity of working through' grief and a predictable recovery pattern are unsupported myths (Correct answer)
- All bereaved individuals benefit from structured grief therapy programs
- Stage theories accurately predict individual grief responses
Correct answer: The 'necessity of working through' grief and a predictable recovery pattern are unsupported myths
Wortman and Silver identified that assumptions about needing to 'work through' grief and predictable recovery patterns were popular but empirically unsupported myths.
Question 7: Worden revised Task IV from 'withdrawing emotional energy from the deceased' to 'finding an enduring connection with the deceased while embarking on a new life.' This revision most reflects influence from:
- KĆ¼bler-Ross's stage theory of grief
- Rando's 6 R's model of mourning
- Continuing Bonds theory (Correct answer)
- Dual Process Model oscillation concept
Correct answer: Continuing Bonds theory
Worden updated Task IV to incorporate Continuing Bonds theory, acknowledging that maintaining an inner relationship with the deceased is healthy rather than pathological.
CBP Theories of Grief and Loss 2
In the Dual Process Model, 'taking time off from grief' by engaging in everyday activities is best understood as: