Mourning and Funerals: Final Rites Bereavement and Grief: Adjusting to the Death of a Loved One

Mourning and Funerals: Final Rites

Mourning and Funerals: Final Rites Death is a big business in the U.S. –Average funeral and burial costs: $7,000 –Survivors are susceptible to suggestions to “provide the best” for deceased –Determined by social norms and customs Because an individual’s death represents an important transition, not only for loved ones but for an entire community, the rites associated with death take on an added importance.

Cultural Differences in Grieving Western societal rituals (some variations) –Body preparation –Celebration of a religious rite –Military customs Every society has its own ways of mourning.

Cultural Differences in Grieving Non-western rituals different from western Examples –Shave heads; let hair and beard grow –Noisy celebration; silence –High emotional display of emotion; no display of emotion

Feldman concludes that all funerals basically serve the same underlying function. What is this function?

After a death, most cultures prescribe some sort of funeral ritual to honor the passing of a community member. Funeral rites play a significant role in helping people acknowledge the death of a loved one, recognize their own mortality, and proceed with their lives.

Funeral rituals in modern times follow a universal pattern across cultures and societies. True False

Modern American funerals are grandiose and expensive largely because: ______________. a. American social norms essentially mandate that a funeral be complex and costly b. the survivors are motivated to provide the best for their loved ones c. the typical American funeral rite involves large numbers of mourners d. the survivors wish to display their wealth and social standing

What role do funeral planners play in tilting family members toward ostentatious funerals? How do they do this?

Bereavement and Grief: Adjusting to the Death of a Loved One

What is the difference? Bereavement Grief

Grieving in the Western World 1 st stage: Grief typically entails shock, numbness, disbelief, or outright denial 2 nd stage: People begin to confront the death and realize extent of their loss 3 rd stage: People reach accommodation stage

Consequences of Grief and Bereavement Negative –Widowed people are particularly at risk of death –More negative consequences if person is already insecure, anxious, or fearful, overly dependent, or lacking in social support –Sudden death Positive Remarriage lowers risk of death for survivors, especially for widowers

Differentiating Unhealthy Grief From Normal Grief After a death, people move through a painful period of bereavement and grief. These mourners in Bosnia grieve the loss of a friend who was killed by enemy bombardment.

Consequences of Grief and Bereavement Bereavement is more likely to produce depression or other negative consequences If person is already insecure, anxious, or fearful and therefore less able to cope effectively If relationships marked by ambivalence before death If person is highly dependent people

When Grief Goes Awry No particular timetable for grieving For some people (but not all) grieving may take considerably longer than a year Only 15 to 30 percent of people show relatively deep depression following loss of loved one Those who show most intense distress immediately after a death are most apt to have adjustment difficulties and health problems later on

Death of Long-term Spouse Strength of relationship with can have effect on grieving process Almost always a traumatic experience that is usually followed by intense grief and anguish Risk of death can be seven times higher than normal in the first year after the death of a spouse, particularly for men and younger women

What other factors besides interpersonal closeness might affect the duration of grief after losing a long-time spouse?

How helpful is grief counseling? Effectiveness, and certainly the necessity, of counseling has recently been called into question Meta-analysis of more than 60 studies of therapeutic interventions for bereaved people concluded that grief counseling did not help significantly more than the mere passage of time Certain kinds of therapy have been shown to be helpful for at least some individuals

Helping a child cope with grief Being honest Encouraging expressions of grief Reassuring children that they are not to blame for the death Understanding that children’s grief may surface in unanticipated ways Understanding children may respond to books for young persons about death

Bereavement refers to the loss of a loved one; grief refers to the emotional response to that loss. For many people, grief passes through denial, sorrow, and accommodation stages.

The nature of emotional displays, such as the amount and timing of crying in response to someone’s death, are determined culturally. True False

Bereaved people who lack ______ are more likely to experience feelings of oneliness and are therefore at greater risk for more negative post-death outcomes. a. ambivalence b. rituals c. independence d. social support

In the final stage of grief, people tend to: ______________. a. reach the accommodation stage, where they pick up the pieces of their lives and construct new identities b. cycle back to numbness if the pain is too severe c. avoid the reality of the situation through denial d. suffer deep unhappiness and even depression

Why do so many people in U.S. society feel reluctant to think and talk about death? Why do people in other cultures feel less reluctant?