Grief Rituals and Grief Reactions of Bereaved Individuals During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 003022282110375
Author(s):  
Buket Şimşek Arslan ◽  
Kadriye Buldukoğlu
Keyword(s):  
Loved One ◽  
Grieving Process ◽  
Grief Reactions ◽  
Depth Interviews

The aim of this study was to examine the grief rituals and grief reactions of individuals who experienced the death of a loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study included 114 participants. The majority of participants (81.6%) stated that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the grieving process. The participants who stated that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the grieving process showed more physiological grief reactions. The implementation of grief rituals did not affect the grief reactions (p > .05). It is recommended to conduct studies with individual in-depth interviews in order to determine the effects of grief rituals on the grieving process in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reclaiming and Reshaping Life: Patterns of Reconstruction After the Suicide of a Loved One

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 994-1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolores Angela Castelli Dransart
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Suicide Survivors ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Life Patterns ◽  
Survivors Of Suicide ◽  
And Coping ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews

The objective of this study is to identify patterns (components and processes) of reconstruction of suicide survivors. In-depth interviews were conducted with 50 survivors of suicide in Switzerland. Data were analyzed using ATLAS.ti and according to the Grounded Theory principles. Survivors of suicide face four major challenges: dealing with the impact of suicide, searching for meaning, clarifying responsibility, and finding a personal style of reaction and coping. The various ways in which survivors fare through the specific processes of the challenges result in various patterns of reconstruction: the vulnerability, transformation, commitment, and hard blow. The unique characteristics and dynamics of each of them are highlighted. Health care providers would benefit from an approach based on the dynamics of the various patterns of reconstruction in providing appropriate support to survivors of suicide.

Elementary School Counselors Supporting Students Experiencing Anticipatory Grief

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 2156759X2094065
Author(s):  
Jillian M. Blueford ◽  
Melinda M. Gibbons
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
School Counselors ◽  
Anticipatory Grief ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Elementary School Counselors ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Grieving Process

The experience of grief after a death-related loss is endured by many, including elementary-aged, students. However, anticipatory grief, or the grieving process that begins when someone knows that a loved one is dying, can create additional challenges. This article explores how elementary-aged students grieve while anticipating a loved one’s death and how school counselors can use therapeutic approaches to address student’s needs and support them as they prepare for their loss.

Grandparents' Reactions to the Death of a Grandchild: An Exploratory Factor Analytic Study

1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. Fry
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Principal Component Factor Analysis ◽  
Survivor Guilt ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Factor Analytic Study ◽  
Personal Accounts ◽  
Grief Reactions ◽  
Depth Interviews

One hundred and fifty-two grandparents who had experienced the death of a grandchild in the preceding three years or so served as subjects for two separate but related studies investigating the multidimensional nature of the grief reactions of grandparents. In Study 1, subjects responded to an open-ended questionnaire which asked for brief descriptions of their grief reactions immediately following the death of the grandchild, and perceived changes in their affective and behavioral responses with the passage of time. A principal component factor analysis procedure was used to identify the major dimensions in the grief reactions of grandparents. Of the six factors that emerged, Factor 1 (Emotional Rupturing) and Factor 2 (Survivor Guilt) accounted for 21.0 percent and 18.6 percent, respectively, of the total variance. In Study 2, a six-month longitudinal follow-up of seventeen grandparents was conducted by means of in-depth interviews. Subjects provided detailed personal accounts of their coping and recovery processes. Interview data were analyzed using a qualitative approach. The results of Study 2 corroborated and supported the factor analysis results obtained in Study 1. Both studies highlight the continuing need for gerontologists to investigate the complexity of grandparents' grief reactions. The studies draw attention to the mental health implications for older adults who have experienced loss and bereavement.

Exploring families' experiences of an organ donation request after brain death

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 654-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Sadat Manzari ◽  
Eesa Mohammadi ◽  
Abbas Heydari ◽  
Hamid Reza Aghamohammadian Sharbaf ◽  
Mohammad Jafar Modabber Azizi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Death ◽  
Organ Donation ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Qualitative Research Study ◽  
Purposeful Sampling ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Death Data

This qualitative research study with a content analysis approach aimed to explore families’ experiences of an organ donation request after brain death. Data were collected through 38 unstructured and in-depth interviews with 14 consenting families and 12 who declined to donate organs. A purposeful sampling process began in October 2009 and ended in October 2010. Data analysis reached 10 categories and two major themes were listed as: 1) serenity in eternal freedom; and 2) resentful grief. The central themes were peace and honor versus doubt and regret. The findings indicated that the families faced with an organ donation request of a brain-dead loved one experienced a lasting effect long after the patient's demise regardless of their decision to donate or refusal to donate. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of family support and follow-up in an efficient healthcare system aimed at developing trust with the families and providing comfort during and after the final decision.

scholarly journals Experiencing the cancer of a loved one influences decision-making for breast cancer prevention

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 1064-1075 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tasleem J Padamsee ◽  
Anna Muraveva ◽  
Lisa D Yee ◽  
Celia E Wills ◽  
Electra D Paskett
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Prevention ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
White Women ◽  
Elevated Risk ◽  
Breast Cancer Prevention ◽  
Brca Mutations ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Psychological Mechanism ◽  
Depth Interviews

Prior research demonstrates that family history influences breast cancer prevention decisions among healthy women at elevated risk of the disease. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 50 African American and White women, this study reveals an important psychological mechanism of this relationship: exposure to cancer among loved ones. Four distinct categories of cancer exposure (Abstract, Generalized, Practical, and Traumatic), distinguished by the characteristics of women’s experiences with cancer among family members and close friends, are associated with differences in knowledge and decisions about breast cancer prevention options. Racial differences and distinct experiences among those with BRCA mutations are also discussed.

Disenfranchised Grief and Families’ Experiences of Death After Police Contact in the United States

2019 ◽  
pp. 003022281984642
Author(s):  
David Baker ◽  
Dana Norris ◽  
Veroniki Cherneva
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Disenfranchised Grief ◽  
Loved One ◽  
White Families ◽  
Grieving Process ◽  
Police Contact ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Semistructured Interviews

This article examines the experiences of family members when a loved one dies after police contact in the United States. It uses qualitative data from semistructured interviews with the bereaved families of 43 U.S. citizens who died after police contact and considers their experiences as covictims of homicide. It examines how they experience grief in the aftermath of such a death and considers Doka’s concept of disenfranchised grief in evaluating how social norms affect their grieving process. It argues that individuals affected by deaths after police contact are often unable to grieve in a way that is socially legitimized. The article finds that disenfranchised grief has a racial dimension with regard to deaths after police contact with non-White families being deeply affected by it due to their position within society, the context in which their loved one died, and in terms of how the deceased was socially constructed.

scholarly journals Not Just Dead Meat: An Evolutionary Account of Corpse Treatment in Mortuary Rituals

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 146-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire White ◽  
Maya Marin ◽  
Daniel M.T. Fessler
Keyword(s):  
Disease Risk ◽  
Mortuary Practices ◽  
Intimate Contact ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Evolutionary Account ◽  
Grieving Process ◽  
Prolonged Contact ◽  
Adaptive Challenges ◽  
Relative Rarity ◽  
Developed World

Comparing mortuary rituals across 57 representative cultures extracted from the Human Relations Area Files, this paper demonstrates that kin of the deceased engage in behaviours to prepare the deceased for disposal that entail close and often prolonged contact with the contaminating corpse. At first glance, such practices are costly and lack obvious payoffs. Building on prior functionalist approaches, we present an explanation of corpse treatment that takes account of the unique adaptive challenges entailed by the death of a loved one. We propose that intimate contact with the corpse provides the bereaved with extensive veridical cues of death, thereby facilitating acceleration of a grieving process that serves to recategorize the deceased as no longer a relationship partner, opening the door to relationship replacement and a return to social functioning. The benefits of exposure to such cues are tempered by the costs of exposure to cues of disease risk, a balance that in part explains the relative rarity of highly invasive mortuary practices that exacerbate the latter factor. We conclude by discussing implications of our model for contemporary mortuary practices in the developed world.

Coping with Grief and Loss: A Community's Shared Responsibility

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Vardanega ◽  
Amanda Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Sudden Death ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Shared Responsibility ◽  
Traumatic Experience ◽  
Grief And Loss ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Grieving Process ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Written Materials

The unexpected loss of a loved one through sudden death is a traumatic experience. Generally, there are few resources in the community specifically tailored to meet the needs of family and friends at such a critical time. This paper describes a Primary Health Care initiative that has been developed in a community, in response to an identified need for a package of written materials to assist the grieving process in the case of a sudden death.

scholarly journals Family dynamics during the grieving process: a systematic literature review

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1119-1134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayra Delalibera ◽  
Joana Presa ◽  
Alexandra Coelho ◽  
António Barbosa ◽  
Maria Helena Pereira Franco
Keyword(s):  
Family Dynamics ◽  
Family System ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Community Resources ◽  
Open Communication ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Good Communication ◽  
Grieving Process ◽  
Adaptive Adjustment ◽  
Psychosocial Morbidity

The loss of a loved one can affect family dynamics by changing the family system and creating the need for family members to reorganize. Good family functioning, which is characterized by open communication, expression of feelings and thoughts and cohesion among family members, facilitates adaptive adjustment to the loss. This study conducted a systematic review of the literature on family dynamics during the grieving process. A search was conducted in the EBSCO, Web of Knowledge and Bireme databases for scientific articles published from January 1980 to June 2013. Of the 389 articles found, only 15 met all the inclusion criteria. The selected studies provided evidence that dysfunctional families exhibit more psychopathological symptoms, more psychosocial morbidity, poorer social functioning, greater difficulty accessing community resources, lower functional capacity at work, and a more complicated grieving process. Family conflicts were also emphasized as contributing to the development of a complicated grieving process, while cohesion, expression of affection and good communication in families are believed to mitigate grief symptoms.

Palliative Care at Home: Reflections on HIV/AIDS Family Caregiving Experiences

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelli I. Stajduhar ◽  
Betty Davies
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Family Caregiving ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Loved One ◽  
The Family ◽  
Care At Home ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Hiv Aids ◽  
At Home

This study explored the day-to-day experiences of family members providing care at home for their dying loved one with HIV/AIDS. In-depth interviews with seven caregivers were analyzed using grounded theory qualitative methods. A conceptualization of the family caregiving experience portrays HIV/AIDS caregiving as an intense, emotional, and powerful experience filled with pride and enrichment, and conversely, with anger and disillusionment. Findings reflected a significant need for interventions designed to provide direct and effective support for family members caring for a loved one with HIV/AIDS.

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