Desire Thinking as a Cognitive Mechanism of Yearning after Bereavement

Yearning is hallmark of grief and prolonged grief, but its psychological underpinnings are poorly understood. We aimed to address this by building on the phenomenological similarities with craving and investigating the role of desire thinking, a voluntary cognitive process central to activating craving. A community sample of bereaved adults (N = 676) completed the Oxford Grief Desire Thinking Scale (OG-DT). Psychometric validity of the two-factor solution (imaginal reunion, elaborative efforts) was excellent. Another three-wave longitudinal sample (N = 275) completed the OG-DT and measures of yearning and proximity-seeking at 0–6 months after loss as well as 6 and 12 months later. Yearning mediated the relationship between both imaginal reunion and elaborative efforts and proximity-seeking behaviors. These findings suggest that desire thinking may be a cognitive driver of yearning, which in turn motivates efforts to cope with the desire. Thus, desire thinking could present a new modifiable target for intervention.