Monozygotic and dizygotic twins' retrospective and current bereavement-related behaviors: an evolutionary perspective.
The present study compared bereavement responses of 325 monozygotic (MZ) and 176 dizygotic (DZ) adolescent and adult twins following the loss of their co-twins. A subset of twins completed the Grief Experience Inventory using a retrospective time frame, while a second subset completed it using a current time frame. It was hypothesized that MZ twins (in both retrospective and current groups) would report higher levels of grief-related behavior than DZ twins, consistent with Hamilton's (1964) concept of inclusive fitness. Discriminant function and profile analyses yielded supportive findings, but only for the retrospective MZ and DZ twin comparisons. Females in both groups expressed higher levels of bereavement-related behavior than males. Findings are discussed with reference to theoretical aspects of grief and mourning.
Department of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton, California 92834, USA. nsegal@fullerton.edu
Nancy L
NL
Segal
Lauren J
LJ
Sussman
William D
WD
Marelich
Jack
J
Mearns
Shelley A
SA
Blozis
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001601:Bereavement; D005075:Biological Evolution; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014429:Twins, Dizygotic / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*