ABSTRACT
Biological conceptualization of the grief process focuses on the impact of loss on physiological functioning. In its broadest form, the biological hypothesis concerning grief is that individuals faced with the stress of bereavement or a life-threatening illness react with a variety of physiological responses, notably immunosuppression, and this in turn leads to greater mortality and morbidity. Available epidemiological evidence, largely from studies of adults, supports this, as does the limited body of evidence from studies of immunological process of adults and animals following bereavement (Hall & Irwin, 2001; Segerstrom & Miller, 2004).
