Risk factors for dysfunctional grief and functional impairment for all causes of death during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of meaning

The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with significant social changes due to legislative and public health requirements, has changed the way in which people experience grief. We examined whether dysfunctional grief symptoms, disrupted meaning, risk factors, and functional impairment differed between people...

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Main Authors: Breen, Lauren, Mancini, Vincent, Lee, Sherman, Pappalardo, Emily, Neimeyer, Robert
Format: Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis 2021
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85549
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author Breen, Lauren
Mancini, Vincent
Lee, Sherman
Pappalardo, Emily
Neimeyer, Robert
author_facet Breen, Lauren
Mancini, Vincent
Lee, Sherman
Pappalardo, Emily
Neimeyer, Robert
author_sort Breen, Lauren
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with significant social changes due to legislative and public health requirements, has changed the way in which people experience grief. We examined whether dysfunctional grief symptoms, disrupted meaning, risk factors, and functional impairment differed between people bereaved from COVID-19 and from other natural or violent causes in this same period. A sample of 409 participants (67.73% male; M = 37.54 years) completed an online survey in June 2021. There were no statistically significant differences between the three groups on any of the outcome variables; all three groups manifested clinical levels of functional impairment equal to or greater than bereaved groups diagnosed with complicated or prolonged grief disorder prior to the pandemic. Disrupted meaning partially mediated the relationship between risk factors on the one hand and functional impairment and dysfunctional grief symptoms on the other. Findings indicate that deaths during COVID-19, rather than deaths from COVID-19, may precipitate symptoms of significant clinical concern.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-855492022-10-07T00:45:37Z Risk factors for dysfunctional grief and functional impairment for all causes of death during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of meaning Breen, Lauren Mancini, Vincent Lee, Sherman Pappalardo, Emily Neimeyer, Robert The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with significant social changes due to legislative and public health requirements, has changed the way in which people experience grief. We examined whether dysfunctional grief symptoms, disrupted meaning, risk factors, and functional impairment differed between people bereaved from COVID-19 and from other natural or violent causes in this same period. A sample of 409 participants (67.73% male; M = 37.54 years) completed an online survey in June 2021. There were no statistically significant differences between the three groups on any of the outcome variables; all three groups manifested clinical levels of functional impairment equal to or greater than bereaved groups diagnosed with complicated or prolonged grief disorder prior to the pandemic. Disrupted meaning partially mediated the relationship between risk factors on the one hand and functional impairment and dysfunctional grief symptoms on the other. Findings indicate that deaths during COVID-19, rather than deaths from COVID-19, may precipitate symptoms of significant clinical concern. 2021 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85549 10.1080/07481187.2021.1974666 Taylor & Francis fulltext
spellingShingle Breen, Lauren
Mancini, Vincent
Lee, Sherman
Pappalardo, Emily
Neimeyer, Robert
Risk factors for dysfunctional grief and functional impairment for all causes of death during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of meaning
title Risk factors for dysfunctional grief and functional impairment for all causes of death during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of meaning
title_full Risk factors for dysfunctional grief and functional impairment for all causes of death during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of meaning
title_fullStr Risk factors for dysfunctional grief and functional impairment for all causes of death during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of meaning
title_full_unstemmed Risk factors for dysfunctional grief and functional impairment for all causes of death during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of meaning
title_short Risk factors for dysfunctional grief and functional impairment for all causes of death during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of meaning
title_sort risk factors for dysfunctional grief and functional impairment for all causes of death during the covid-19 pandemic: the mediating role of meaning
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85549