Attachment and grief in young adults after the loss of a close friend: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background Although many lose a close friend each year, they are seldom the focus of grief research. However, these losses often cause severe and long-lasting reactions. Deaths among adolescents and young adults are also often caused by traumatic events, e.g. from accidents, suicides, and homicides, placing them at significant risk for complicated grief reactions. The focus of this paper is bereaved friends after the shootings at Utøya, Norway in 2011, which is among a few studies that focus on bereaved friends, exploring how attachment affects the grief process after the loss of a close friend. Methods This paper explores qualitative data from in-depth interviews with thirteen bereaved friends, conducted about 28 months after the loss. The interview sample consisted of eight females and five males, aged 18–31 years. The interviews were semi-structured, with a theme guide of 14 questions, and the method used for analyses was systematic text condensation. Results Two main themes were identified from the analyses of the interviews: Friendship and Grief, with the subordinate themes: The importance of the friendship, Longing and remembrance, How the loss has affected other relationships, How the loss has affected the friend’s daily lives, Processing of the grief and Not being family. For most of the bereaved friends the loss and the grief had a profound effect on them and their overall lives, from daily functioning in school or at work, to changes in attitudes, and the way they were met as bereaved. Conclusions The support, intimacy, and feelings of togetherness we share with our friends are of great importance and value for all people, but maybe especially for young people. When adolescents and young adults experience losses, their reactions are often intense and long-lasting, and especially complicated grief reactions can affect school performance and concentration, health, result in emotional problems; and disrupt development (e.g. identity formation and social skills). We don’t know much about the grief of bereaved friends and how their reactions can be explained. Thus, we hope that these findings could shed light on their grief reactions, and provide new knowledge on the short- and long-term psychological impact of losses of friends.

Prolonged grief, reconstruction of meaning, and posttraumatic growth in nursing home residents who have lost loved ones

“…Losing someone you love is a painful experience, usually followed by grief and emotional distress 1 . After traumatic losses, it is common to engage with death and to also experience feelings of disbelief, anger, shock, guilt, depression, loneliness, sleep difficulties, emptiness, hopelessness, or vulnerability 2 . Most bereaved individuals cope with the loss over time and return to a compatible level of functioning 3 .…”

“…1 After traumatic losses, it is common to engage with death and to also experience feelings of disbelief, anger, shock, guilt, depression, loneliness, sleep difficulties, emptiness, hopelessness, or vulnerability. 2 Most bereaved individuals cope with the loss over time and return to a compatible level of functioning. 3 Common strategies used for coping include positive reframing, planning and seeking social support, active coping, emotional and instrumental support, acceptance of death, religion, and humor.…”

Needs for help and received help for those bereaved by a drug-related death: a cross-sectional study

“…In a study of psychosocial help to the bereaved after the 2011 terror attack in Norway where 77 people died, 25% of a sample of 67 bereaved reported rigidity in the professional services regarding who should and should not receive help ( Dyregrov et al, 2015 ). Another study, based on interviews of bereaved friends after this attack, reported common experiences of not getting help or being acknowledged as bereaved ( Johnsen & Tømmeraas, 2022 ). Thus, the experience of differing recognition of needs and access to help depending on relation to the deceased is a shared experience both for DRD-bereaved and other traumatically bereaved people.…”