Grief and mourning in Covid-19 pandemic and delayed business as a new concept

ERBİÇER E. S., METİN A., DOĞAN T.

CULTURE & PSYCHOLOGY, cilt.29, sa.1, ss.3-26, 2023 (SSCI) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 29 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2023
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1177/1354067x221118921
  • Dergi Adı: CULTURE & PSYCHOLOGY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, ASSIA, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, EBSCO Education Source, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts, Political Science Complete, Psycinfo, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.3-26
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: COVID-19 pandemic, mourning, grief, delayed business, risk and protective factors, UNFINISHED BUSINESS, PROTECTIVE FACTORS, COMPLICATED GRIEF, PROLONGED GRIEF, DEATH, BEREAVEMENT, DEPRESSION, PREVALENCE, DISORDER, STRESS
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The measures, restrictions, and death-related rituals in the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the mourning-related routines of individuals. Moreover, mourning processes have been affected by the restriction of death-related cultural rituals, funeral ceremonies performed only by the officials, and the prohibition of visiting graves. This study aims to investigate the experiences of individuals who lost their loved ones in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic. For that purpose, the phenomenological method is employed in the design of the study. Individual interviews were conducted with nine participants who lost their relatives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected through semi-structured interview forms prepared by the researchers. The study participants described the various factors contributing to the grief and mourning process in the COVID-19 pandemic. These factors were categorized into three following main categories: grief and mourning responses of the individuals lost loved ones, including cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses; risk factors including the expectation of harm, unfinished business, and restriction of death-related religious-cultural rituals; and protective factors including relative support (i.e., family, spouse, friend, partner), tele-support (i.e., mobile phone, internet, social media), positive coping strategies (cognitive, behavioral, and religious-spiritual), and delayed business. The "delayed business" concept was also addressed within protective factors and explained in general terms. Finally, the findings were discussed considering the literature and presented some theoretical and practical implications.