The crucial importance of empirical evidence in the development of bereavement theory: reply to Archer (2001)

Abstract

In his commentary, J. Archer (2001a) argued that G. A. Bonanno and S. Kaltman's (1999) review and integration of the bereavement literature failed to consider evolutionary theory or other approaches to the origins of grief. Archer also argued that Bonanno and Kaltman had merely replaced the traditional grief work perspective with cognitive restructuring, thereby ignoring the processes related to avoidance and distancing from the loss. In this reply, the author first explains that although it was compelling to do so, Bonanno and Kaltman did not emphasize an evolutionary approach to the origins of grief reactions because in their current form these theories lack empirical and theoretical clarity. Second, the author shows that, contrary to Archer's reading, Bonanno and Kaltman's article viewed cognitive restructuring as a mechanism used primarily by extremely grieved persons and only in some cognitive domains. Last, the author shows that Bonanno and Kaltman have championed rather than ignored avoidant or distancing processes.