Bereavement

Bereavement is the term used to identify the situation and the period of time following the death of significant others (e.g., spouse, parent, sibling, child, friend). Bereavement is usually considered a time of intense distress in which people are trying to cope with their grief. Grief is a normal reaction to loss and death and can be experienced through emotional, psychological, and physical manifestations. The symptoms of grief are diverse and varied depending upon individual differences, cultural norms, age of the survivor at which the [Page 101]loss occurs, circumstances and implications of the death (e.g., expected versus unexpected death, age of the person who died), as well as the timing of the experience (i.e., at what point in time is the grief occurring in reference ...