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Bereaved Adults’ Evaluations of Grief Management Messages: Effects of Message Person Centeredness, Recipient Individual Differences, and Contextual Factors

Authors:
Rack, Jessica J.
Burleson, B. R.
Bodie, G. D.
Holmstrom, A. J.
Servaty-Seib, H.

Source:
Death Studies: 2008. Volume 32, pp. 399-427.

Summary

This article summarized the results of a study to identify ways in which people can help the bereaved cope with their grief.  The study participants were 105 bereaved college students.  Participants were asked to rate the level of helpfulness of various support strategies that others used to help the bereaved. Offering presence, expressing a willingness to listen, and expressing care and concern to the bereaved were rated as the most helpful strategies.  The authors refer to these strategies as person centered strategies. Strategies that were rated as not helpful included giving advice and minimizing the grievers’ feelings. Women rated low person-centered grief management messages as less helpful and high person-centered grief management messages as more helpful than men.

Key words: cope, effective, student

Service Provider Implications

This research indicates that developing and utilizing person-centered grief management strategies and interventions, such as offering presence, expressing willingness to listen, and expressing care and concern, are helpful to the bereaved. Non person-centered grief management strategies, such as giving advice or messages that minimize the bereaved’s feelings, are not helpful.