predicted that loss groups would have greater variance than no-loss groups for timing of entering intimate relationships and for quality of the relationships. For both samples, hypotheses were supported when loss was due to death, but not when loss was due to divorce.
Couples who had experienced parental death during adolescence tended to react to the loss either by moving quickly into intimate relationships or by taking a long time to enter such relationships. This pattern was evident for variables of courtship length, age at marriage and level of commitment to intimate relationships. In other words, adolescent bereavement was associated with either very quick courtships or very long courtships, very early age of marriage or rather late age at marriage, and very quick commitment to intimacy or very slow commitment to intimacy.
Although variance differences were found between death-loss and no-loss persons, mean differences were also found between the groups, indicating qualitatively different reactions to loss depending on the type of loss. Regarding thi
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