Grief and functional impairment following COVID-19 loss in a treatment-seeking sample: the mediating role of meaning

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented levels of grief and psychological distress in community samples. We examined unique pandemic grief risk factors, dysfunctional grief, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, general psychiatric distress, disrupted meaning, and functional impairment in a treatment-seeking sample of people bereaved from COVID-19 in the United Kingdom. A sample of 183 participants (91.80% female; M = 47.40 years) completed an online survey as part of an intake assessment for a grief support and referral service. Most reported clinically elevated PTSD symptoms (83.1%), psychiatric distress (64.0%), and functional impairment (56.8%). A smaller, but still concerning percentage (39.3%) reported clinically significant symptoms of dysfunctional grief. Disrupted meaning substantially mediated the relationship between risk factors and all four outcomes. Counsellors should address the breadth of psychological distress in those bereaved by COVID-19 and hone their skills in promoting meaning making in the wake of the trauma and loss generated by the pandemic.

KEYWORDS:

• Bereavement
• grief
• meaning making
• pandemic
• functional impairment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data are not available.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lauren J. Breen

Lauren J. Breen is a Professor in psychology at Curtin University, Australia, and a Registered Psychologist. Her research centres on issues of grief and loss across the lifespan, for families and communities, and for health and social care professionals. She is a Fellow in Thanatology: Death, Dying and Bereavement. She is a member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement; a Board Member of the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement and of Lionheart Camps for Kids; and Managing Editor of Death Studies.

Sherman A. Lee

Sherman A. Lee is an Associate Professor in psychology at Christopher Newport University, USA. He is interested in understanding emotional experiences of grief, depression, anxiety, and sympathy. His long-term goal is to understand the psychological basis for such profound experiences and to explore the implications of findings for assessment and treatment. He established and leads the Pandemic Grief Project and the Coronavirus Anxiety Project.

Vincent O. Mancini

Vincent O. Mancini is a clinical psychology registrar and a Lecturer in psychology at Curtin University, Australia. His research interests include mental health, including understanding grief. Vincent also has expertise in research methodology and research translation.

Michaela Willis

Michaela Willis founded the National Bereavement Partnership, UK, in the 1990s. She is a long-standing advocate for people bereaved by sudden and traumatic death, especially with complicated circumstances. Her areas of expertise are many and include bereavement, organ donation, and primary care.

Robert A. Neimeyer

Robert A. Neimeyer directs the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition, USA, and maintains an active consulting and coaching practice. Neimeyer has published over 500 journal articles and book chapters as well as 32 books, including New Techniques of Grief Therapy, and serves as Editor of Death Studies. He is currently working to advance a more adequate theory of grieving as a meaning-making process.