Ambiguous Loss Resources
This is a collection of resources that NCFR has gathered on ambiguous loss, which can result from either a physical loss in which there is no guarantee the lost person will return and no verification of death, or a mental loss, such as related to dementia, in which there is no guarantee that a person's mental faculties will return to the way they used to be.
You'll find links to video discussions and lectures, scholarly articles from NCFR's journals, articles from NCFR Report magazine, and more below.
Website: AmbiguousLoss.com
Therapist and NCFR Fellow Pauline Boss's website on ambiguous loss contains explanations, resources (books, articles, and more), and media mentions about the topic. Boss coined the term ambiguous loss, which refers to experiencing loss in which death cannot be verified, or not being able to guarantee that a person will return to their former condition.
Book: Family Stress Management, 2nd Edition
Pauline Boss explores the larger context surrounding families and stress, and the inner context, which includes perceptions and meanings. She emphasizes the need for a more general contextual model of family stress that could be applicable to more people and families as well as a wider variety of stresses and crises than other models. The goal is to provide a framework for students and professionals engaged in helping families learn how to manage their stress.
Videos on Ambiguous Loss
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Webinar: Helping Families Learn to Live with Ambiguous Loss — presented by Pauline Boss
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Webinar: Ambiguous Loss Treatment and Intervention for Family Therapists —presented by Pauline Boss
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Conference Session Video: Myth of Closure: What is Normal Grief After Loss, Clear or Ambiguous? —presented by Pauline Boss; available to NCFR members
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Presentation Clip and Slides: Finding Meaning to Cope with Ambiguous Loss — presented by Pauline Boss
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Conversation: Ambiguous Loss and Approaches for Working with Families of the Missing — featuring Pauline Boss and Simon Robins
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Conversation: A Conversation About Ambiguous Loss Research — featuring Pauline Boss and Jay Mancini
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Conversation: Pauline Boss on Ambiguous Loss
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Public Service Campaign Clip: Intergenerational Ambivalence
Scholarly Articles on Ambiguous Loss
Journal Articles
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Special Issue of Journal of Family Theory & Review (JFTR) on Ambiguous Loss Theory, 2016
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Ambiguous Loss Theory: Challenges for Scholars and Practitioners — by Pauline Boss; published in Family Relations (FR), 2007
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Ambiguous Loss Research, Theory, and Practice: Reflections After 9/11 — by Pauline Boss; published in Journal of Marriage and Family (JMF), 2004
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Dealing with Ambiguous Loss — by Carolyn Y. Tubbs and Pauline Boss; published in FR, 2000
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The Family Coping Inventory Applied to Parents with New Babies — by Jacqueline N. Ventura and Pauline G. Boss; published in JMF, 1983
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Normative Family Stress: Family Boundary Changes Across the Life-Span — by Pauline G. Boss; published in FR, 1980
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The Relationship of Psychological Father Presence, Wife's Personal Qualities and Wife/Family Dysfunction in Families of Missing Fathers — by Pauline G. Boss; published in JMF, 1980
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A Clarification of the Concept of Psychological Father Presence in Families Experiencing Ambiguity of Boundary — by Pauline Boss; published in JMF, 1977
Theory Construction and Research Methodology (TCRM) Workshop Papers — login required
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Down Syndrome and Fathering: An Exploration of Ambiguous Loss — by Gail E. Bentley, Anisa Zvonkovic, Nicole Springer, and Michael McCarty, 2012
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Boundary Ambiguity Across Levels of Openness in Adoption — by Fravel, D. L., Grotevant, H. D., Boss, P. G., & McRoy, R. G., 1993
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Ambiguous Loss and Boundary Ambiguity in Multiracial Families: An Extension of Ambiguous Loss Theory — by Dixon, A., 2001
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The Measurement of Family Boundary Ambiguity: A General Variable in Family Stress Theory — by Boss, P., & Greenberg, J., 1982
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Psychological Father Presence in the Missing-in-Action Family System: The Testing of a Theory on Father Interaction — by Boss, P., 1975
For NCFR journal access: If you're an NCFR member who subscribes to NCFR's journals, log in to the NCFR website and visit the subscriber-access webpages below to read the full text of journal articles on the website of our journal publisher, Wiley.
Journal of Marriage and Family Subscriber Access
Family Relations Subscriber Access
Journal of Family Theory & Review Subscriber Access
Other Articles on Ambiguous Loss
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Closure: Why It's a Myth — by Pauline Boss; published in NCFR Report's Family Focus section, 2013 — available to NCFR members
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Responding to Disaster: Family Therapists in Fieldwork — by Tai J. Mendenhall; published in NCFR Report's Family Focus section, 2013 — available to NCFR members
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Working with Grieving Families — by Pauline Boss; published in CFLE Network, 2013 — available to Certified Family Life Educators
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How a Theory is Born: A Conversation with Pauline Boss — by Nancy Gonzalez; published on the NCFR website, 2011
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There, But Not There: Loving Someone Who Has Dementia — by Nancy Gonzalez; published on the NCFR website, 2011
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Rethinking Adoptions That Dissolve: What We Need to Know About Research, Practices, Policies — and Attitudes (PDF) — by Pauline Boss; published in NCFR Report's Family Focus section, 2008
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When is a Grandparent Not a Grandparent? (PDF) — by Margaret Ward; published in NCFR Report's Family Focus section, 2005
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Ambiguous Loss: Frozen Grief in the Wake of the WTC Catastrophe (PDF) — by Pauline Boss; published in NCFR Report's Family Focus section, 2001