PurposeThe purpose of this study was to provide empirical evidence that continuing bonds of attachment to a deceased spouse would provide the most successful adaptation to bereavement. The study examined measures of psychological adjustment within a 5-year post-loss period. By the end of the study, the researchers hoped to gain insight into whether continued bonding would lead to an adaptive or maladaptive lifestyle, and whether continued bonding would prove to lead to a healthier life. Method Participants 89 participants were selected to begin the study. 5 years after the bereavement, only 39 were able to participate in the five-year follow-up. The 39 participants included the following: 26 women and 13 men between the ages of 28 and 56. Setting Participants lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. Participants were recruited through newspaper advertisements, published notices, and referrals from a variety of institutions. Dependent variable(s) Measured data came from a variety of psychological tests and questionnaires on specific pain symptomatology. Measurements of the participant's relationship with the deceased were also taken while the spouse was alive. The target behavior identified in the study states: “If continued attachments 5 years after the loss are an expression of refusal to relinquish attachment due to overdependence on the deceased, anxious attachment should be associated with greater use of continuous ties for 5 years". post-loss. On the other hand, if continuing ties were simply an expression of a more satisfying prior relationship with the deceased, one would expect a positive correlation between a measure of relationship satisfaction in the prior relationship with the deceased and continuation...... middle of paper... to truly determine the results. This study provided more conclusive results on the adaptability of continuing ties, however the results still do not provide sufficient answers on the question of whether ties should actually be maintained or not. Additionally, of this study, 92% were Caucasian. So there is not enough representative sample of other ethnicities or cultures to correctly identify whether continuing bonds would be adaptive for other groups of people. In my opinion, this study provided great insight into the behaviors of bereaved spouses. There are too many different factors to have a comprehensive view of adaptivity or maladaptation to continuing bonds. Works CitedField, N. P., Gal-Oz, E., & Bonanno, G. A. (2003). Continuation of constraints and adjustment 5 years after the death of the spouse. Journal of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, 71(1), 110-117. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.71.1.110