ItemArticle

Complicated Grief during COVID-19: An International Perspective

Title
Complicated Grief during COVID-19: An International Perspective
Creator
Khoury B.; Barbarin O.; Gutirez G.; Klicperova-Baker M.; Padakannaya P.; Thompson A.
Description
Cultures across the globe have evolved time-tested rituals to honor those who die and offer solace and support to survivors with the goal of helping them to accept the reality of the death, cope with the feelings of loss, adjust to life without the deceased, and find ways to maintain a connection to the memory of the deceased. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted these rituals and brought significant changes to the way we mourn. Specifically, public health responses to COVID-19 such as social distancing or isolation, delays or cancellations of traditional religious and cultural rituals, and shifts from in-person to online ceremonies have disrupted rituals and thus made it more difficult to access support and complete the psychological tasks typically associated with bereavement. This paper conceptualizes the common bereavement tasks including emotion-focused coping, maintaining a connection to the deceased, disengagement and reframing death and loss, and problemfocused coping. It provides examples of how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered mourning rituals across several cultures and religions and contributed to prolonged grief disorder as defined by the ICD-11 that includes depressive symptoms and post-traumatic stress. Early evidence suggested that the suddenness of loss, the social isolation, and the lack of social support often associated with COVID-19-related death are salient risk factors for complicated grief. As a consequence, psychological assessments, grief counseling, and mental health support are needed by families of patients who died from COVID-19. These services must be essential components of any comprehensive public health response to the pandemic. 2022 Hogrefe Publishing.
Source
International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation, Vol-11, No. 3, pp. 214-221.
Date
2022-01-01
Publisher
Hogrefe Verlag GmbH & Co. KG
Subject
bereavement tasks; complicated grief; COVID-19; culture; mourning; tradition
Coverage
Khoury B., Department of Psychiatry, American University of Beirut Medical Center, PO Box 11-0236/B2, Riad El-Solh, Beirut, 1107 2020, Lebanon; Barbarin O., Department of African American Studies and Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States; Gutirez G., Departamento de Psicolog, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogot Colombia; Klicperova-Baker M., Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic; Padakannaya P., Department of Psychology, Christ University, Bangalore, India; Thompson A., Department of Psychology, Sociology & Social Work, School of Social Sciences, University of the Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas
Rights
Restricted Access
Relation
ISSN: 21573883
Format
Online
Language
English
Type
Article

Collection

Articles

Citation

Khoury B.; Barbarin O.; Gutirez G.; Klicperova-Baker M.; Padakannaya P.; Thompson A., “Complicated Grief during COVID-19: An International Perspective,” CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Institutional Repository, accessed March 10, 2025, https://archives.christuniversity.in/items/show/14941.

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