Advanced search
Publication Cover
Death Studies Volume 42, 2018 - Issue 8
Submit an article Journal homepage
3,160
Views
36
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
REGULAR ARTICLES

Social support following bereavement: The role of beliefs, expectations, and support intentions

Emma L. LoganSchool of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaCorrespondence[email protected]
View further author information
,
Jennifer A. ThorntonSchool of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaView further author information
,
Robert T. KaneSchool of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaView further author information
&
Lauren J. BreenSchool of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaView further author information
Pages 471-482 | Published online: 08 Dec 2017
 
Sample our Social Sciences journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days

ABSTRACT

Social support is one of the strongest determinants of bereavement outcomes, yet little is understood about the community’s recognition of grief and intentions to provide social support to grieving persons. A total of 476 adults responded to an online vignette and questionnaire measuring grief norms and supportive intentions. Respondent gender, age, and bereavement status all had some association with expectations of grief, intentions to support, perceived helpfulness of support attempts, and opinions toward the diagnostic classification of grief. Given that most bereavement support is informal, this study informs the development of community capacity to provide constructive, timely bereavement support.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Ishta White for her assistance with the initial coding of qualitative responses.

Additional information

Funding

Emma L. Logan is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and Lauren J. Breen is supported by the Australian Research Council (DE120101640). No other competing financial interests exist.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Order Reprints Request Corporate Permissions

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

Request Academic Permissions

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.

Related Research Data

Bereavement theory: recent developments in our understanding of grief and bereavement
Source: Informa UK Limited
Bereaved adults' evaluations of grief management messages: effects of message person centeredness, recipient individual differences, and contextual factors.
Source: Informa UK Limited
The role of culture in grief
Source: Informa UK Limited
Grief and social support after the death of a spouse.
Source: Wiley
The Preparation of Graduate Health Professionals for Working with Bereaved Clients: An Australian Perspective:
Source: SAGE Publications
Prevalence of complicated grief in a representative population-based sample
Source: Elsevier BV
"I was just trying to stick it out until I realized that I couldn't": a phenomenological investigation of support seeking among older adults with complicated grief.
Source: SAGE Publications
The construction and interpretation of vignettes in social research
Source: Whiting & Birch, Ltd.
A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology.
Source: American Psychological Association (APA)
Public attitudes about normal and pathological grief
Source: Informa UK Limited
The DSM-5 and the bereavement exclusion: a call for critical evaluation.
Source: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Oppression of the bereaved: a critical analysis of grief in Western society.
Source: SAGE Publications
Community responses following suicide, homicide, and other deaths: the perspective of potential comforters.
Source: Informa UK Limited
What is a mental illness? Public views and their effects on attitudes and disclosure
Source: SAGE Publications
Social Reactions to the Survivor of a Suicide in the Family: A Review of the Literature
Source: SAGE Publications
Desire for social distance from people with mental disorders
Source: SAGE Publications
Expectations about grief and evaluation of the griever
Source: Informa UK Limited
Helpful and Unhelpful Comments after Suicide, Homicide, Accident, or Natural Death.
Source: SAGE Publications
The Fundamental Paradox in the Grief Literature: A Critical Reflection:
Source: SAGE Publications
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Source: American Psychiatric Association
Bereavement and palliative care: A public health perspective
Source: Informa UK Limited
Prolonged Grief Disorder: Psychometric Validation of Criteria Proposed for DSM-V and ICD-11
Source: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
How They Died, Time since Loss, and Bereavement Outcomes
Source: SAGE Publications
Psychologists' and counsellors' perspectives on prolonged grief disorder and its inclusion in diagnostic manuals
Source: Wiley
Death on the digital landscape: a preliminary investigation into the grief process and motivations behind participation in the online memoriam.
Source: SAGE Publications
Perceptions of Social Support by Suicide Survivors and Their Social Networks.
Source: SAGE Publications
The Bereavement Exclusion: the Truth between Pathology and Politics
Source: SLACK, Inc.
Comparing Data from Online and Face-to-face Surveys:
Source: SAGE Publications
The loss of sadness
Source: Wiley
Understanding community engagement in end-of-life care: developing conceptual clarity
Source: Informa UK Limited
Recent Bereavement from Suicide and Other Deaths: Can People Imagine It As It Really Is?
Source: SAGE Publications
state of the science and ways forward
Source: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Lessons Learnt From Bereaved Caregivers
Source: SAGE Publications
Acts of Resistance: Breaking the Silence of Grief Following Traffic Crash Fatalities
Source: Informa UK Limited

Linking provided by 

Related research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.