Anticipatory grief: Its nature, impact, and reasons for contradictory findings

Abstract

A review of the published research literature that examined the consequences of anticipatory grief on post-death bereavement adjustment, found conflicting results. An analysis of the literature suggested that conceptualisation matters, the lack of a precise and consistent operational definition, along with a number of methodological issues were the main reasons for the inconsistent and contradictory findings. Until these research concerns are adequately addressed to coherently and meaningfully capture the impact of anticipatory grief on post-death bereavement adjustment, an understanding of the phenomenon is likely to be limited, and could affect the nature and type of interventions considered by mental health practitioners in this field.