The PURL Study

A Project to Understand Reactions to Loss

Principal Investigator: George A. Bonanno, Ph.D.

Project Director: Anthony D. Mancini, Ph.D.

The death of a spouse can be a painful and confusing experience. But it is clear that not everybody grieves in the same way. Some people suffer greatly and then gradually accept the death moving on to new responsibilities, and new roles in life. Others may have more difficulty adapting to the loss, unable to shake feelings of loneliness and despair for years after. Still others suffer pain in the immediate aftermath of the loss but seem to recover more quickly. To cope with loss, many bereaved people turn to family and friends for support. Others turn inward, to withdraw and reflect on the pain of their loss. Sometimes people turn to books or support groups for solace. In many cases, these are helpful. However, sometimes groups, books, and even family or friends can fail to provide the necessary comfort. Indeed, there is much that remains unknown about how people cope with loss, especially for those with the most severe reactions to loss. 

Project to Understand Reactions to Loss: Our project staff has been conducting research on bereavement for over 15 years and we have learned a great deal. However, there is still much about the grieving process that we do not yet know. To address this need, we have been funded by the National Institutes of Health to continue our research on bereavement. We created the Project to Understand Reactions to Loss, in the hope that a better understanding of how people react to loss can further our ability to help those who suffer the most. 

Anthony D. Mancini, Ph.D.

Department of Counseling & Clinical Psychology

Teachers College, Columbia University

525 West 120th Street, Box 102

New York, NY 10027

Phone:  212-678-3817

Email: midlifelab@tc.edu

Last Updated: 11/01/2007 by Joe King