Grief Adjustment as Influenced by Funeral Participation and Occurrence of Adverse Funeral Events

Seventy-four mourners were studied on how their experiences with funeral services for their loved ones influenced later scores on the Grief Experience Inventory (GEI). Those who found the funeral “comforting” and/or participated in planning the funeral reported less grief misery later. A high incide...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Omega: Journal of Death and Dying 2000-10, Vol.41 (2), p.79-92
Main Authors: Gamino, Louis A., Easterling, Larry W., Stirman, Linda S., Sewell, Kenneth W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bereavement
Death & dying
Emotions
Funerals
Grief
Grief Experience Inventory
Participation
Psychological tests
Rites & ceremonies
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Seventy-four mourners were studied on how their experiences with funeral services for their loved ones influenced later scores on the Grief Experience Inventory (GEI). Those who found the funeral “comforting” and/or participated in planning the funeral reported less grief misery later. A high incidence (43%) of “adverse events” was found to occur during the funerals, contributing, for some mourners, to a perception of the funeral as “not comforting.” Adverse events are categorized and illustrated by the authors to aid grief therapists and funeral directors in assisting mourners to be vigilant toward such adversities and to optimize the healing potential of funeral rituals.
ISSN:0030-2228
1541-3764
DOI:10.2190/QMV2-3NT5-BKD5-6AAV