Focusing on methodologically sound, theoretically oriented, and empirically derived knowledge, the authors provide a structured framework for researchers and practitioners.

Part I. Introduction: 1. Bereavement research and theory: an introduction to the Handbook Margaret S. Stoebe, Wolfgang Stroebe, and Robert O. Hansson; Part II. The Phenomenology and Measurement of Grief: 2. The course of normal grief Stephen R. Shuchter, and Sidney Zisook; 3. Pathological grief reactions Warwick Middleton, Beverly Raphael, Nada Martinek, and Vivienne Misso; 4. Measurement issues in bereavement Robert O. Hansson, Bruce N. Carpenter, and Sharon K. Fairchild; Part III. Current Theories of Grief, Mourning, and Bereavement: 5. Grief as an emotion and as disease: a social-constructionist perspective James R. Averill, and Elma P. Nunley; 6. Bereavement as a psychosocial transition: processes of adaptation to change Colin Murray Parkes; 7. Grief: the social context of private feelings Paul C. Rosenblatt; 8. Bereavement from the perspective of cognitive-experiential self-theory Seymour Epstein; Part IV. Physiological Changes Following Bereavement: 9. Biobehavioral consequences of loss in nonhuman primates: individual differences Mark L. Laudenslager, Maria L. Boccia, and Martin L. Reite; 10. Neuroendocrine changes following bereavement Kathleen Kim, and Selby Jacobs; 11. Bereavement, depressive symptoms, and immune function Michael Irwin, and Jennifer Pike; Part V. The Psychological, Social, and Health Impacts of Conjugal Bereavement: 12. The mortality of bereavement: a review Margaret S. Stroebe, and Wolfgang Stroebe; 13. Psychological resilience among widowed men and women: a 10-year follow-up of a national sample Robert R. McCrae, and Paul T. Costa, Jr; 14. Determinants of adjustment to bereavement in younger widows and widowers Wolfgang Stroebe, and Margaret S. Stoebe; 15. The impact of spousal bereavement on older widows and widowers Dolores Gallagher-Thompson, Andrew Futterman, Norman Farberow, Larry W. Thompson, and James Peterson; 16. The course of spousal bereavement in later life Dale A. Lund, Michael S. Caserta, and Margaret F. Dimond; 17. Risk factors in bereavement outcome Catherine M. Sanders; Part VI. Grief Reactions to Different Types of Loss: 18. Loss and recovery Robert S. Weiss; 19. The death of a child is forever: the life course impact of child loss Simon Shimshon Rubin; 20. Children's reactions to the death of a parent Phyllis R. Silverman, and J. William Worden; 21. Bereavement following death from AIDS: unique problems, reactions, and special needs John L. Martin, and Laura Dean; 22. Sleep and dreams in well-adjusted and less adjusted Holocaust survivors Hanna Kaminer, and Peretz Lavie; Part VII. Coping, Counseling, and Therapy: 23. The meaning of loss and adjustment to bereavement Camille B. Wortman, Roxane Cohen Silver, and Ronald C. Kessler; 24. Old age and widowhood: issues of personal control and independence Robert O. Hansson, Jacqueline H. Remondet, and Marlene Galusha; 25. The support systems of American urban widows Helena Znaniecka Lopata; 26. The role of social support in bereavement Stanley K. Stylianos, and Mary L. S. Vachon; 27. Bereavemnet self-help groups: a review of conceptual and methodological issues Morton A. Lieberman; 28. Counseling and therapy of the bereaved Beverly Raphael, Warwick Middleton, Nada Martinek, and Vivienne Misso; Part VIII. Conclusions: 29. Contemporary themes and controversies in bereavement research Margaret S. Stroebe, Robert O. Hansson, and Wolfgang Stroebe.