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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection
Published on: August 26, 2011
Exploring Sexual Reminiscing After the Death of a Romantic Partner.
Robyn K Cumben1, Christopher Quinn-Nilas1, Courtney Loveless1
1Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Journal of Sex Research
|April 10, 2025
Summary
Many bereaved individuals maintain sexual bonds with deceased partners through reminiscing. This common practice is linked to continuing emotional bonds and past sexual satisfaction, offering insights for grief therapy.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Grief Studies
- Human Sexuality
Background:
- Bereavement significantly impacts psychological and physical well-being.
- Post-bereavement sexual experiences are under-researched and clinically overlooked.
- Continuing bonds theory posits enduring emotional connections with deceased loved ones.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of sexual reminiscing in bereaved individuals.
- To explore factors associated with the frequency and positivity of sexual reminiscing.
- To examine the application of continuing bonds theory to sexual relationships after loss.
Main Methods:
- Online survey administered to 165 Canadian individuals bereaved of a romantic partner.
- Recruitment via online panels, social media, and grief forums.
- Multiple regression analysis to identify predictors of sexual reminiscing frequency and valence.
Main Results:
- Sexual reminiscing was highly prevalent (80.5%) and often frequent (31.8% weekly or more).
- Experiences were generally positively valenced.
- Continuing bonds, past sexual satisfaction, and posttraumatic growth predicted frequency; continuing bonds and past sexual satisfaction predicted valence.
Conclusions:
- Sexual reminiscing is a common and often positive way bereaved individuals maintain connections.
- Findings support the extension of continuing bonds theory to sexual relationships.
- Results have implications for grief counseling and therapeutic interventions for bereaved individuals.
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