ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the relationships between the aspects of functioning. It aims to define three dimensions of functioning that together form the picture of adaptation after the loss: a loss reactions dimension, a health dimension and a social functioning dimension. Looking at the dimensions of adaptation after bereavement, it appears that the loss reactions are closely related to health. The quality of social functioning is more or less independent from loss reactions, but somewhat related to health. It would be interesting to consider the level of functioning in these three areas with regard to the differences between the modes of death and the relationships to the deceased. A technique particularly suited to make this visible is ‘principal components analysis by means of alternating least squares’ (PRINCALS). In the PRINCALS, there is a clear indication that mothers and widowers are the relationship groups most at risk for developing problems in adaptation.
