The Death-Rebirth Adaptation Framework (DRAF): A Conceptual Model for Understanding Symbolic Loss and Identity Reconstruction Beyond Bereavement

While grief research has traditionally focused on bereavement and physical death, individuals often experience profound psychological distress following non-mortal losses such as academic failure, employee layoffs, business collapse, relationship dissolution, and career derailment. These experiences frequently involve the loss of identity, future aspirations, social status, and self-worth, resulting in reactions that resemble grief processes. Existing frameworks, including the Kübler-Ross model, provide valuable insights but remain limited in explaining adaptation and identity reconstruction following symbolic losses. This paper proposes the Death-Rebirth Adaptation Framework (DRAF), a five-stage conceptual model consisting of Identity Shock, Resistance, Meaning Crisis, Adaptation, and Rebirth. The framework integrates concepts from grief theory, transition theory, identity theory, resilience theory, and post-traumatic growth theory to explain how individuals navigate non-mortal losses and reconstruct their identities. The paper contributes a novel theoretical perspective that extends grief research beyond bereavement and provides a foundation for future empirical investigations in education, organizational studies, psychology, and human-computer interaction.