Relationships as Regulators: A Psychobiologic Perspective on Bereavement*

Hofer, Myron A.

doi:10.1097/00006842-198405000-00001

Cited by 433 publications

(275 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Attachment Theory: Normative and Coregulatory Models (Hofer, 1984;Sbarra & Hazan, 2008). In the first book in his trilogy, the British Psychiatrist and father of Relationships, Affect and Health 11 attachment theory, John Bowbly (1969Bowbly ( /1982, argued that understanding children's responses to separations from caregivers hinged on understanding the nature of the bond that "ties him to that figure" (p. 177).…”

Section: Social Baseline Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships and Health: The Critical Role of Affective Science

Sbarra

Coan

2018

Emotion Review

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High-quality social relationships predict a range of positive health outcomes, but no broadly accepted theory can explain the mechanisms of action in this area. The central argument of this paper is that affective science can provide keys for integrating the diverse array of theoretical models concerning relationships and health. From nine prominent theories, we cull four components of relational affect that link social resources to healthrelated outcomes. This component model holds promise for integrating research from the different theoretical perspectives and for generating new, mechanistic questions about connection between relationships and health. The paper closes by outlining three empirical study ideas that illustrate ways in which the different components can be studied together in the context of mechanism-focused research.

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Section: Social Baseline Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships and Health: The Critical Role of Affective Science

Sbarra

Coan

2018

Emotion Review

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“…Our group has been studying assessment and treatment of bereavement-related mental health problems for more than a decade [e.g., 16 [21,46]. The current paper further develops this by focusing on (1) a biobehavioral explanation for grief symptoms and (2) a more detailed description of complicated grief.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

An attachment-based model of complicated grief including the role of avoidance

Shear

Monk

Houck

et al. 2007

Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosc

192

145

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“…Relationships have been viewed as regulators of stimulation so as not to be understimulated or overstimulated [42,67,117]. This has been called "psychobiological attunement".…”

Section: Recommendations For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Romantic Breakup Distress, Betrayal and Heartbreak: A Review

Field¹

2017

IJBRP

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Although romantic breakups, breakup distress and heartbreak are common among adults, they have occurred as early as the seventh grade [90], and most of the studies on these topics have been conducted with university students, as reflected by the literature reviewed in this paper. Romantic breakups occur in as many as twothirds of university samples [43,104]. The breakups frequently lead to breakup distress which is often associated with depression, feelings of rejection and betrayal, heartbreak symptoms including chest pain and compromised immune function. This review summarizes some of that literature.In one of the early studies on romantic breakups in university students, the Breakup Distress Scale (adapted from the Inventory of Complicated Grief) and several other measures were used to assess the distress that followed romantic breakups [43]. In that, 192 university students (primarily Hispanic women)were surveyed about their recent romantic breakup. The students were divided into high versus low scoring groups based on the Breakup Distress Scale. The group with high Breakup Distress Scale scores reported that they had less time since the breakup occurred, that they were not the initiators of the breakup, that the breakup was sudden and unexpected, and that they felt rejected and betrayed. In a regression analysis on the same database, the depression scores (CES-D) and feeling rejected and betrayed by the breakup were significant predictors of the Breakup Distress scores. These variables explained 37% of the variance, highlighting their relationships to breakup distress. These results were not surprising given that depression has been related to other kinds of grief, and feelings of rejection and betrayal have been notably similar to physical pain and have led to immune dysfunction [29,47]. Thus, literature that related romantic breakups to depression, rejection and betrayal, pain and immune dysfunction are reviewed here. In addition, fMRI and biochemical data are reviewed as potential underlying mechanisms, and social and biochemical interventions are briefly explored. AbstractA review of the romantic breakup literature suggests that it can lead to breakup distress, betrayal and heartbreak. The breakup distress that occurs can be explained in part by depression and feelings of rejection and betrayal. These may lead to physical problems including heartbreak or the broken heart syndrome and immune dysfunction. The broken heart syndrome has notably mimicked heart attacks, but it has been differentiated from a real heart attack by angiograms revealing unclogged arteries and no permanent heart damage. Reduced vagal activity and increased cortisol and catecholamine levels (dopamine and norepinephrine) accompanying heartbreak are thought to be potential underlying mechanisms for the broken heart syndrome and for immune dysfunction including increased inflammatory cytokines and reduced natural killer cells. fMRIs following breakups have revealed increased activity in the cingulate cortex and the right ventricular pr...

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Relationships as Regulators: A Psychobiologic Perspective on Bereavement*

Cited by 433 publications

References 50 publications

Relationships and Health: The Critical Role of Affective Science

Relationships and Health: The Critical Role of Affective Science

An attachment-based model of complicated grief including the role of avoidance

Romantic Breakup Distress, Betrayal and Heartbreak: A Review

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