Safer, M. A., Bonanno, G. A., & Field, N. P. (2001). ” It was never that bad”: Biased recall of grief and long-term adjustment to the death of a spouse. Memory, 9(3), 195-203.
At 6 months following the death of their spouse, 37 participants reported their grief-related symptoms and thoughts, and then, approximately 4.5 years later, they attempted to recall how they felt at the time of the 6-month report. Although participants were far less distressed at recall than initially, they recalled their 6-month grief rather accurately. Participants did however overestimate prior grief-related intrusive ideation. Participant's current level ...