Can “sense of presence” experiences in bereavement be conceptualised as spiritual phenomena?

Steffen, Edith Maria; Coyle, Adrian

doi:10.1080/13674670903357844

Cited by 49 publications

(66 citation statements)

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“…These supernatural events may operate as imaginal attachment resources that support a sense of "earned security" and emotional regulation (Granqvist, Mikulincer, & Shaver, 2010). Optimally, spiritual or religious beliefs may offer greater meaning making (Frick, 2011;Steffen & Coyle, 2010;Steffen & Coyle, 2011) and a continuing bond with the deceased, whether externalized (hallucinations and illusions of the deceased) or internalized (mental representations of the deceased) (Field, 2006;Field, Gao, & Paderna, 2005).…”

Section: Unresolved Mourning Supernatural Belief Fantasy and Dissomentioning

confidence: 98%

Unresolved mourning, supernatural beliefs and dissociation: a mediation analysis

Thomson

Jaque

2014

Attachment & Human Development

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Unresolved mourning is marked by disorganized behavior and states of mind. In this study, we speculated that pathological dissociation would mediate the effects of unresolved mourning on supernatural beliefs. This hypothesis was determined based on findings that indicate an association between higher levels of dissociation, stronger beliefs in the supernatural and unresolved mourning. We examined two groups of participants, one classified as non-unresolved (non-U) (n = 56) and the other as unresolved (n = 26) (U) with respect to past loss/trauma as measured by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Two self-report instruments were administered to measure supernatural beliefs and dissociation. As hypothesized, the multivariate analysis of variance indicated mean differences between the two groups. The unresolved group had greater belief in the supernatural and more pathological dissociative processes. The mediation analysis demonstrated that pathological dissociation fully mediated the effects of unresolved mourning on supernatural beliefs.

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Section: Unresolved Mourning Supernatural Belief Fantasy and Dissomentioning

confidence: 98%

Unresolved mourning, supernatural beliefs and dissociation: a mediation analysis

Thomson

Jaque

2014

Attachment & Human Development

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“…In a recent review of the literature, it was suggested that socially sanctioned conceptual frameworks need to be available for the meaningful integration of these experiences and the possible occurrence of post-traumatic growth (Steffen & Coyle, 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

Sense of Presence Experiences and Meaning-Making in Bereavement: A Qualitative Analysis

Steffen¹,

Coyle²

2011

Death Studies

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Acknowledgements:We would like to extend our sincere thanks to two anonymous reviewers and to Robert A. Neimeyer and Nigel Field for their invaluable and insightful advice and support in helping us to develop this article for publication.1 Address correspondence to Edith Steffen, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom. E-mail: e.steffen@surrey.ac.uk, Tel.: +44 (0)1483 689553 Keywords: bereavement; continuing bonds; meaning-making; post-traumatic growth; sense of presence; spirituality Bereavement has been described as a major life crisis with potentially severe effects on the survivor's physical and psychological well-being (Lindemann, 1944;Parkes, 1970Parkes, , 1996. 2 SENSE OF PRESENCE EXPERIENCES AND MEANING-MAKING IN BEREAVEMENT: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSISFor much of the twentieth century, Western approaches to bereavement have emphasized emotional disengagement from the deceased and the 'working-through' of grief (Freud, 3 1917). Following increasing challenges to this 'grief work' paradigm (e.g. Wortman & Silver, 1989), a new strand of bereavement research has started to identify positive effects of bereavement under the categories of coping (e.g. Folkman, 2001) and post-traumatic growth .Linking bereavement research with research into post-traumatic cognitive processes has drawn attention to the significance of post-bereavement 'meaning-making'. According to Janoff-Bulman (1992), major trauma can shatter people's 'assumptive world' with regard to core beliefs about the benevolence and meaningfulness of the world and one's self-worth.Such 'existential trauma' (Benore & Park, 2004) can lead to a 'search for meaning ' (Frankl, 1959;) ,with the goal of integrating the loss into the assumptive worldview or 'self-narrative' (Neimeyer, 2001) through meaning reconstruction processes such as sense-making, benefitfinding, and identity change (Neimeyer, 2006).Religious and spiritual beliefs can aid these processes (Davis, Nolen-Hoeksema & Larson, 1998), and the potentially positive role of religion in bereavement has been observed (e.g. Becker et al., 2007;Golsworthy & Coyle, 1999;Wortman & Park, 2008). However, a major loss can also challenge existing religious beliefs or lead to a (re-)discovery of faith and spiritual change (Balk, 1999). Spiritual experiences in bereavement may play a significant role here. Benore and Park (2004) 1996) and is generally perceived as 'comforting' (e.g. Parkes, 1970;Sormanti & August, 1997), 'pleasant' (Grimby, 1998;), and helpful or positive (e.g. Chan et al., 2005;LaGrand, 1997). Sometimes, though, sense-of-presence experiences are perceived as negative; for example, Tyson-Rawson (1996) noted that an 'unwelcome' or 'intrusive presence' is often linked with 'unfinished business' in the relationship with the deceased. Although the reported percentages of negative experiences are small compared to positive ones, e.g. 6% and 69% respectively by Rees (1971Rees ( , 2001) and 14% and 86% respectively by Datson and Marwit (1997), di...

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“…Frost and S.-M. Nolas and methodological experimentations have taken place, they have been used constructively to study complexities of human experience (e.g., Johnson, Burrows & Williamson 2004). Such pluralistic approaches have been found to be valuable in exploring topics of particular ontological challenge (e.g., paranormal experience; Steffen & Coyle 2010). Researchers have focussed on the role of pluralism in triangulation (Moran-Ellis et al 2006) and in multiple data sources in seeking further understanding of a phenomenon (e.g., Dicks, Soyinka & Coffey 2006).…”

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confidence: 99%

Exploring and Expanding on Pluralism in Qualitative Research in Psychology

Frost

Nolas

2011

Qualitative Research in Psychology

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Can “sense of presence” experiences in bereavement be conceptualised as spiritual phenomena?

Cited by 49 publications

References 101 publications

Unresolved mourning, supernatural beliefs and dissociation: a mediation analysis

Unresolved mourning, supernatural beliefs and dissociation: a mediation analysis

Sense of Presence Experiences and Meaning-Making in Bereavement: A Qualitative Analysis

Exploring and Expanding on Pluralism in Qualitative Research in Psychology

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