Testing the Meaning Making Model of Coping With Loss

The meaning making model of adjusting to highly stressful events is widely accepted among stress and trauma researchers. This model posits that distress arises from discrepancies between appraised and global meaning and that individuals attempt to make meaning by reappraising their situation to reduce the discrepancy and thereby ease their distress. Little research has directly tested these assumptions. The present study tested six specific hypotheses derived from the meaning making model in a sample of 108 college students dealing with a significant loss (primarily bereavement) in the past six months. Results provided uneven support for the meaning making model across the specific hypotheses. These findings suggest that the methodology presently used by many researchers in this area should be reconsidered and that future studies of meaning making might profitably implement improved approaches to conceptualization and assessment.