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

• Published in: Omega: Journal of Death and Dying Vol. 87; no. 4; pp. 1293 - 1307
• Main Authors: Şimşek Arslan, Buket, Buldukoğlu, Kadriye
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-09-2023; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Bereavement; COVID-19; Grief; Pandemics; Rituals; bereavement; COVID-19 pandemic; ritual; funerals; mourning
• ISSN: 0030-2228; 1541-3764
• DOI: 10.1177/00302228211037591

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.