Death StudiesPub Date : 2026-07-20DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2026.2705373
Shanku Paul, Jayashree Das
{"title":"Funeral restrictions and bereavement distress during COVID-19.","authors":"Shanku Paul, Jayashree Das","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2026.2705373","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2026.2705373","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Most research on pandemic bereavement has been conducted in Western settings, with limited evidence from culturally diverse regions where funeral rituals carry strong communal and religious significance. This study examined whether funeral restriction during COVID-19 was associated with prolonged grief and moderate-to-severe anxiety among bereaved adults in Northeast India, and whether these associations were moderated by social support and religious involvement. Data were collected from 274 adults who lost a family member during the pandemic. Complete funeral restriction was associated with higher prolonged-grief severity and odds of moderate-to-severe anxiety compared with no restriction, whereas partial restriction also showed elevated risk. Greater social support was associated with lower prolonged grief severity across restriction levels, whereas the association between funeral restriction and prolonged grief was stronger among participants with higher religious involvement. The findings indicate that severe funeral disruption is linked to increased bereavement distress in Northeast India, a culturally diverse region.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148520182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2026-07-16DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2026.2693541
Mustafa Karakus, Sushmita Shoma Ghose, Amanda Harris, Eric R Cohn, Peter Lee, Cristian Ilie
{"title":"Cost of bereavement: A study of Medicaid expenditures for children and adults following the death of a household member.","authors":"Mustafa Karakus, Sushmita Shoma Ghose, Amanda Harris, Eric R Cohn, Peter Lee, Cristian Ilie","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2026.2693541","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2026.2693541","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The death of a household member can significantly affect surviving members' health and well-being. This study examines health care costs and service utilization among bereaved adults experiencing the death of a child household member and bereaved children experiencing the death of an adult household member using 2017-2019 national Medicaid and CHIP claims data. Bereaved individuals were propensity score-matched to non-bereaved counterparts using predeath demographic and clinical characteristics. Outcomes were measured over 12 months. Bereaved adults showed increased crisis care, including higher inpatient and emergency department use; reduced outpatient use; and elevated spending on substance use disorder services. Bereaved children demonstrated significantly lower total and general medical spending, with no detectable changes in utilization patterns, likely reflecting unmet needs and dependence on grieving adults for care access. Findings highlight substantial post-death health care needs and underscore the importance of early support, with future research needed on longer-term impacts.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148469530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2026-07-15DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2026.2704577
Ibrahim Akmese
{"title":"Isn't it my loss? Grief experiences of counselor educators following student death.","authors":"Ibrahim Akmese","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2026.2704577","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2026.2704577","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although bereavement responses in higher education often emphasize student-centered care, this focus can obscure faculty members' own experiences of loss. This study examined counselor educators' lived experiences following the death of a student using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Eleven counselor educators across the United States who had experienced one to three student deaths participated in semi-structured interviews analyzed idiographically and across cases. Five themes emerged. Grief was experienced as deeply relational and shaped by tensions between personal loss and professional expectations, with educators frequently prioritizing students while managing their own grief privately. Institutional responses, ranging from support to silence, influenced the visibility and legitimacy of faculty grief. Participants described meaning-making through ritual acknowledgment, continuing bonds, and professional transformation characterized by increased emotional presence, pedagogical flexibility, and relational care. Findings highlight the need for faculty-inclusive postvention practices in counselor education.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-16"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148454982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2026-07-09DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2026.2693542
Saeed Esmailnia, Narges Ensan, Holly G Prigerson, Clare Killikelly
{"title":"Trajectories of grief in Iranian culture: A phenomenological study of sudden death versus gradual decline.","authors":"Saeed Esmailnia, Narges Ensan, Holly G Prigerson, Clare Killikelly","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2026.2693542","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2026.2693542","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The loss of a family member can trigger diverse emotional responses shaped by the type of death and cultural context. Grief may follow a gradual terminal decline or a sudden death, influencing how it is experienced. This qualitative study examines the lived experiences of Iranian families facing both loss types. Using a phenomenological approach guided by Colaizzi's method, 22 bereaved participants were interviewed. Analysis identified 49 meaning units and 13 themes, organized into four overarching clusters representing a temporal grief trajectory: (1) Acute grief (emotional rupture, embodied distress), (2) Mid-term turmoil (self-blame, existential despair), (3) Cultural and relational mediation (attachment, social support), and (4) Continuing bonds and meaning reconstruction (enduring connection, adaptive/spiritual acceptance). Findings suggest sudden losses produce intense acute and mid-term distress, while gradual losses allow preparation and movement toward acceptance and meaning making. These insights emphasize the value of culturally sensitive, individualized grief interventions in Iranian contexts.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148419538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2026-07-05DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2026.2697878
Parastou Yousefali, Leili Panaghi, Rasoul Ghorkhanehchi Maralani, Paul A Boelen
{"title":"Examination of the psychometric properties of three questionnaires measuring cognitive-behavioral processes in adjustment to bereavement among Iranian adults.","authors":"Parastou Yousefali, Leili Panaghi, Rasoul Ghorkhanehchi Maralani, Paul A Boelen","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2026.2697878","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2026.2697878","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The cross-cultural validation of measures assessing grief-related cognitive and behavioral processes is important to ensure that these processes can be assessed reliably across cultures. This study translated and validated the Farsi versions of three measures assessing grief-related cognitive and behavioral processes: Grief Cognitions Questionnaire (GCQ), Depressive and Anxious Avoidance in Prolonged Grief Questionnaire (DAAPGQ), and Experienced Unrealness Scale (EUS) among 534 bereaved Iranian adults. Results supported a one-factor structure for the EUS, a two-factor structure for the DAAPGQ, and a modified five-factor structure for the GCQ that differed from the original model, possibly reflecting cultural variation in grief-related cognitions among Iranian bereaved individuals. Reliability was acceptable to excellent (<i>α</i> = .82-.95, <i>ω</i> = .82-.94). Correlations were strongest with prolonged grief severity. These findings support the reliability, validity, and cultural applicability of the Farsi GCQ, DAAPGQ, and EUS for bereavement research and clinical assessment in Iranian and Farsi-speaking populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148390192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2026-07-04DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2026.2695286
Tamilarasu Sampath, S Sowmiya, Jogy George, N R Suresh Babu, Sampath Kumar Srinivasan
{"title":"Socio-cultural context of self-harming tendencies: Exploring suicidal ideation among older persons with limited mobility in Tamil Nadu.","authors":"Tamilarasu Sampath, S Sowmiya, Jogy George, N R Suresh Babu, Sampath Kumar Srinivasan","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2026.2695286","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2026.2695286","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study explored the influence of the sociocultural context in shaping suicidal ideation among older persons with limited mobility in Tamil Nadu, India. This exploratory qualitative study used a social constructionist paradigm guided by the interpersonal theory of suicide. A total of 16 in-depth interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis of the data generated three themes: hampered life-world affinities, self-mortification, and death as personal signifiers of trauma. The results indicate that suicidal ideation represents not only internalized self-evaluations, but also cumulative responses to life-world experiences of exclusion, stigma, and identity erosion. The study showed that the participants constructed the meaning of suicide and death with respect to pain, exclusion, and religious beliefs. Overall, this study provides a nuanced understanding of the sociocultural embeddedness of suicidal ideation among older adults with limited mobility in relation to social expectations, representation, and identity.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148387277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2026-07-02DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2026.2693544
Rachel E Menzies, Jessie Brown, Mitchell Turner, David Cunnington, Malisa Burge, Ian C Dunican, Hailey Meaklim
{"title":"Is a fear of death keeping you awake at night? Death anxiety predicts insomnia through nightmare severity.","authors":"Rachel E Menzies, Jessie Brown, Mitchell Turner, David Cunnington, Malisa Burge, Ian C Dunican, Hailey Meaklim","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2026.2693544","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2026.2693544","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The fear of death (death anxiety) is a risk factor for various mental health conditions. Death anxiety has been theorized to elicit physiological arousal and worry and is empirically associated with attachment insecurity, each of which has been linked to disrupted sleep. However, limited research has explored the relationship between death anxiety, nightmares and insomnia. We examined the relationship between death anxiety and insomnia, as well as attachment style as a potential moderator, and nightmare severity as a possible mediator. Five hundred and fifteen adults completed an online survey; 70% were female, and 89% resided in Australia. Regression analyses revealed that death anxiety was positively related to insomnia, with no significant moderation by attachment style. Analyses using Hayes' PROCESS macro revealed that nightmare severity mediated this relationship. These findings suggest that death anxiety may play a greater role in insomnia than previously considered and may be an important intervention target.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148375032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2026-06-30DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2026.2695287
Ana Catarina Nunes da Silva, Carlota Baila
{"title":"Self-care and the perceived impact of working with people with suicidal ideation on clinical psychologists.","authors":"Ana Catarina Nunes da Silva, Carlota Baila","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2026.2695287","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2026.2695287","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study explored how clinical psychologists experience and manage the emotional impact of working with clients presenting suicidal ideation or coping with a client's death by suicide, as well as the self-care strategies they use and the barriers they encounter. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten clinical psychologists and analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants described this work as highly demanding, involving challenges in maintaining emotional boundaries and a strong sense of responsibility, while also being experienced as professionally meaningful. Anticipating suicide was associated with fear and anxiety, whereas actual suicide elicited grief, sadness, and self-doubt. All participants emphasized the importance of self-care, reporting strategies such as supervision, intervision, and personal psychotherapy. Barriers included emotional overload, time constraints, and difficulty disengaging from clients' suffering. Overall, the findings highlight the coexistence of emotional burden and professional meaning, underscoring the need for both individual coping strategies and systemic support to sustain clinicians' well-being.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148359710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2026-06-29DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2026.2693947
Georgina Baldwin Brown, Rachel E Menzies
{"title":"Buried in belongings: Investigating death anxiety and the effects of mortality salience on hoarding symptoms.","authors":"Georgina Baldwin Brown, Rachel E Menzies","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2026.2693947","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2026.2693947","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Death anxiety has been argued to be a transdiagnostic construct, underlying several mental disorders. Preliminary correlational studies have highlighted the potential relevance of death anxiety in Hoarding Disorder (HD). We examined whether reminders of death increase hoarding symptoms, using an online mortality salience study. We recruited a community sample (<i>N</i> = 315), who completed experimental measures of hoarding following a mortality salience prime, followed by self-report measures of death anxiety and hoarding severity. As expected, a significant correlation was found between death anxiety and hoarding severity. However, in the overall sample, there were no significant differences between salience conditions in hoarding-related symptoms. These findings do not support the notion that death anxiety plays a central role in HD. Future research should explore whether mortality salience effects emerge in clinical samples or using in-person laboratory measures of hoarding symptoms.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148351102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2026-06-29DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2026.2693948
Andrea Moreno-Antolín, María Nieves Pérez-Marfil, Manuel Fernández-Alcántara, Mérida Ramírez-Burgos, Francisco Cruz-Quintana
{"title":"Reactions and re-signification of loss following the death of a loved one in the Spanish Civil War and postwar period: A qualitative study across three generations.","authors":"Andrea Moreno-Antolín, María Nieves Pérez-Marfil, Manuel Fernández-Alcántara, Mérida Ramírez-Burgos, Francisco Cruz-Quintana","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2026.2693948","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2026.2693948","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The emotional repercussions stemming from the Spanish Civil War and the postwar period, along with the demands of the affected families, remain a complex and unresolved reality. Unlike in other countries, research in Spain in this issue are still scarce, due-amongst other reasons-to misinformation and silence. The present study aims to highlight the lack of processing of traumatic loss across the first, second, and third generations of descendants of those executed during the Franco regime, while also examining the particularities of this type of grief. Using qualitative methodology, the accounts of a sample of nine grievers were examined through thematic analysis. Three themes were identified, reflecting, different reactions to the loss, various mechanisms for its re-signification (highlighting the lack of information and social recognition), and the participants' demands to bring closure to their process. The psychosocial nature of traumatic loss grants the environment a decisive role in its resolution.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148344211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}