A pull to be close: The differentiating effects of oxytocin and grief stimulus type on approach behavior in complicated grief.

ABSTRACT: Theoretical models of complicated grief (CG) suggest that maladaptive motivational tendencies (e.g., perseverative proximity-seeking of the deceased; excessive avoidance of reminders) interfere with a person's ability to recover from their loved one's death. Due in part to conflicting evidence, little mechanistic understanding of how these behaviors develop in grief exists. We sought to (1) identify behavioral differences between CG and non-CG groups based on approach/avoidance bias for grief-, deceased-, and social-related stimuli, and (2) test the role of the neuropeptide oxytocin in shaping approach/avoidance bias. Widowed older adults with (n = 17) and without (n = 22) CG completed an approach/avoidance task measuring implicit bias for both personalized and non-specific g

SUBMITTER: Arizmendi BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10501263 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature