Death Studies最新文献

Storybooks play a crucial role in the experience of childhood. As death is an inevitable part of life, storybooks can be a helpful tool to start communicating about death and grief. The aim of this study was to learn which storybooks were available regarding death and grief for Swedish-speaking children. During spring 2023, a literature search was conducted. A total of 62 books were included in the content analysis to assess language, words, symbolism, and coping strategies. This study provides valuable insights for adults, aiming to enrich the literary experiences of children and promote meaningful conversations about death and grief.

For a minority of the bereaved, the loss of a significant other can trigger an overwhelming emotional reaction and impaired functioning across life domains, known as prolonged grief disorder (PGD). Hence, ongoing efforts have been made to refine existing treatments to increase their efficacy and to accommodate the idiosyncrasies of grief reactions. This study presents the results of an open clinical trial of the feasibility and effectiveness of the Meaning in Loss (MIL) protocol in an online format. The brief intervention of 12 to 16 sessions combines constructivist and narrative strategies to explore and work through impediments to meaning reconstruction in loss. The sample included 25 participants diagnosed with PGD who were treated by six therapists. Baseline and post-therapy comparisons showed a significant improvement in all clinical measures (grief symptomatology, depression and general distress) and an increase of meaning making regarding the loss. Meaning making was found to be a prospective mediator of symptomatic improvement in grief across the course of therapy. These findings suggest the effectiveness of the MIL protocol in decreasing grief specific and associated symptomatology and argue for the relevance of further controlled evaluations of its efficacy. Moreover, results confirm previous findings that meaning making is a relevant factor in the evolution of grief reactions, including in the context of psychotherapy.

The death of a baby in the perinatal period is considered a disenfranchized grief that can be a source of significant symptoms of guilt, shame, and stigma. There is a lack of validated instruments for assessing the stigma associated with perinatal grief. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties (factor structure, reliability, and validity) of the Spanish version of the Stillbirth Stigma Scale (SSS) in parents who have experienced a perinatal loss. A total of 291 participants (mostly mothers) completed an online questionnaire that included the SSS and other measures. The best-fitting factor structure was a second-order model with four dimensions and adequate reliability values. In terms of validity, we found statistically significant relationships between the SSS scores and the variables of self-esteem, complicated grief, event centrality, depression, and anxiety. In conclusion, the Spanish adaptation of the SSS is deemed to have adequate psychometric properties.

Earthquakes are natural disasters that are very destructive and whose timing is unknown. These disasters can have a very negative effect on people's mental health, and their effects can last for many years. This study examined the psychometric properties of a scale to measure earthquake obsession. Data were collected from adults living in different provinces of Türkiye (N = 732), who completed the new scale, Doomscrolling Scale, Death Distress Scale, and Mental Well-Being Scale. The Earthquake Obsession Scale (EOS) had a two-factor structure, good internal consistency reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity. Correlational analysis revealed that earthquake obsession was positively associated with doomscrolling and death anxiety, and negatively associated with well-being. Mediation analysis indicated that doomscrolling and death distress mediated the relationship between earthquake obsession and well-being. The results emphasized the potential of earthquake obsession to affect daily life negatively and revealed its relationship with psychological variables.

This study examines the challenges faced by teaching staff in supporting bereaved college students. A three-year study was conducted in Danish colleges, involving focus groups and 1-on-1 interviews with 18 teachers from five collaborating colleges, situated in all main regions of Denmark. The research aimed to understand the role of college teaching staff in providing support during critical illness and death. Findings reveal an absence of clear structures, leaving teaching staff uncertain about their responsibilities. Challenges include inconsistent engagement, difficulty identifying bereaved students, and the need for more time, support structures, and training. Clear guidelines are essential to empower teaching staff in effectively assisting bereaved students. Providing support, resources, and training will enhance student well-being and enable teachers to fulfill their support roles confidently.

Coping with loss is an unfortunate reality faced by healthcare professionals, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this challenge for those who worked on the frontlines. Our scoping review aimed to comprehensively map the existing literature pertaining to the experiences of grief among nurses and physicians in the context of the pandemic. Six bibliographic databases were searched in 2022, and a targeted search of gray literature and citation chasing was also performed. After screening a total of 2920 records, we included 173 evidence sources in this review. Data was both analyzed descriptively (e.g., frequency counts and percentages) and using a qualitative content analysis approach. Our findings illuminate the myriad losses experienced by nurses and physicians throughout the pandemic. While the literature portrays the coping mechanisms healthcare professionals have developed personally, there is a pronounced need for increased institutional support to alleviate the burdens they carry.

COVID-19 may pose a mental health risk to funeral service workers (FSWs). In this cross-sectional survey, 278 Dutch FSWs were assessed three months after the acute phase of the pandemic ended. The FSWs reported on burnout symptoms (BAT-12), work engagement (UWES-9), wellbeing (MHC-SF) mental health indicators, and retrospectively on work stress and perceived support during the acute phase of the pandemic. Data-analyses included descriptive statistics and linear regression. Mental health scores were compared with norm scores. Almost all FSWs reported "average-to-high" levels of wellbeing (93%, n = 223) and work engagement (99%, n = 275), and rarely (3%, n = 7) "high" levels of burnout symptoms. However, a third (33%, n = 81) expressed a need for support. Higher levels of work stress and lower levels of perceived support were significantly associated with poorer current mental health. FSWs appear mentally healthy and may provide worthwhile insights into pandemic resilience.

Based on continuing bonds theory, this research assessed the manifestation of a continuing relationship for bereaved parents with their deceased offspring who is buried in a different country. This qualitative interpretive phenomenological study is based on interviews with seven bereaved parents whose offspring died during military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and were buried in Israel, whilst the parents live outside of Israel. Analysis revealed three themes: (a) fulfillment of their offspring's will; (b) commemoration; (c) physical and emotional proximity to their offspring. The geographical distance from the grave presented a challenge to parents' continuing bonds with their deceased offspring, manifesting as a dialectical bond of distance and closeness with their offspring. A key finding was the relational dynamic of the parent-offspring relationship through the continuing bond that emerged following the death of their offspring. Implications for parental bereavement support are considered.

This article explores how the parent-child bond is continued in an emergent deathscape in urban China where graves designated for deceased children are being created. This new child-centered deathscape stands in stark contrast to the dominant Chinese deathscape which is embedded in the longstanding practice of ancestor worship. Based on data collected through cemetery visits and interviews with bereaved parents, this article delves into the making of this new deathscape manifested at a cemetery in urban China to demonstrate the process of bereaved parents building and maintaining bonds with their deceased children. It reveals how bereaved parents regard their children's graves as the children's new homes in the afterlife. It also discusses how a deceased child's identity is presented and social presence continued at the grave, how parental love is expressed and practiced after the burial, and how the parent-child bond is expressed as continuing in the afterlife.

In this qualitative study, we explored the process of ideological meaning-making of bereaved individuals (N = 19) who have lost a close family member to Covid-19. Based on a thematic analysis three key themes emerged: "cut," "fade out," and "fade in." Participants initially experienced a sudden disconnect (cut) that was forced onto the bereaved, both during the loved one's illness period and after the loved one's death. This "cut" was followed by a "fade out" of the social, medical, and institutional entities that had been highly involved in the illness period, leaving the bereaved to realize that they are no longer part of "the national struggle." The "fade out" generated a "fade in" process, during which the collective sense of loss was forcefully replaced by a privatized one. This study provides a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between the social narratives of COVID-19, ideological meaning-making and bereavement.