ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we will examine the impact of a variety of relational factors on adjustment to loss, including kinship relationship to the deceased, the nature of the relationship with respect to dependency, emotional distance, or proximity, and other psychological factors. We will also look at findings concerning how these factors affect the quality of the attachment bond with the deceased after the death has occurred, a relationship that has been described as the continuing bond with the dead (Klass et al., 1996). We will then explore the implications of these findings when viewed through the lens of modern attachment theory.
