Grief

Abstract

Introduction Grief is frequently described as a normal reaction to bereavement, which in turn is considered a normal part of life, an event which sooner or later affects most people. Grief reactions are diverse, varying across time and between people(s). There are, for example, personality and other individual differences. Nevertheless, certain regularities characterize bereavement-related phenomena. First, it is important to note that most people adjust over the course of time to the loss of a loved person (most are “resilient,” see below). Yet the experience is often typified as harrowing, as associated with suffering; the person is described as “grief stricken” or “grieving.” There are similarities too between people (at least within Western cultures) in the wider range of psychological, behavioral, social, and physical reactions experienced. Of concern at the health care level, bereaved persons are at risk of physical and mental illnesses, even (though more rarely) excessive mortality. Given such potential detrimental ramifications, grief and bereavement have become topics of specific scientific investigation, with knowledge accumulating across recent decades. Therefore, in this entry, an overview of research on grief and bereavement is provided, focusing on the key questions relating to health and well-being that scientists have endeavored to answer.