The Endless Grief in Waiting: A Qualitative Study of the Relationship between Ambiguous Loss and Anticipatory Mourning amongst the Relatives of Missing Persons in Italy

The Endless Grief in Waiting: A Qualitative Study of the Relationship between Ambiguous Loss and Anticipatory Mourning amongst the Relatives of Missing Persons in Italy

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This article presents the results of a qualitative study aiming to consider the relationship between ambiguous loss and anticipatory mourning amongst relatives of missing people in Italy.Eight people participated in the research, narrating their experiences of losing a beloved person (one found alive, three found dead, and four still missing).Findings suggest the presence of a particular form of ambiguous loss, characterised by traits typical of both prolonged and traumatic grief.

These findings describe how families are faced with an emotional vortex related to a never-ending wait, and how the mourning is solved apunisw2 only when the missing person is found dead or alive.The discovery of a corpse is traumatic but it allows mourners to fully recognise their grief.When a person is found, it changes the relationship in a positive way.

When neither of these events happen, mourners have two different kinds silver lining herbs kidney support of reactions: they experience either a prolonged grief or a drive to solve their suffering by helping other people (post-traumatic growth).In this study, it is highlighted how a community can be useful or detrimental in this process, and the importance of psychological and social support to prevent significant clinical outcomes is stressed.