This is a completed project which was initiated prior to January 18,2017
Background: Theoretical models of complicated grief (CG) suggest that maladaptive approach
(e.g., perseverative proximity-seeking of the deceased) or avoidance (e.g., excessive
avoidance of reminders) behaviors interfere with a person's ability to integrate the loss and
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 implicit bias for grief-,
deceased-, and social-related stimuli, and (2) test the role of the neuropeptide oxytocin in
shaping approach/avoidance bias.
Methods: Widowed older adults with (n = 17) and without (n = 22) CG completed an
approach/avoidance task measuring implicit bias for personalized, non-specific,
grief-related, and other stimuli. In a double-blinded, randomized, counterbalanced design,
each participant attended both an intranasal oxytocin session and a placebo session. Aims
were to (1) identify differential effects of CG and stimulus type on implicit
approach/avoidance bias [placebo session], and (2) investigate interactive effects of CG,
stimulus type, and oxytocin vs. placebo on approach/avoidance bias [both sessions].