Doka (1989a, p. 4) defined disenfranchised grief as “the grief that persons experience when they incur a loss that is not or cannot be openly acknowledged, publicly mourned, or socially supported.” He suggested that disenfranchisement can apply to unrecognized relationships, losses, or grievers, as well as to certain types of deaths. This article contends that disenfranchisement in bereavement may have a potentially broader scope than has been hitherto recognized. That claim is defended by exploring further the implications of disenfranchisement and by suggesting ways in which certain understandings or misunderstandings of the dynamic qualities of grief, mourning, and their outcomes may be open to disenfranchisement or may participate in disenfranchisement. The aims of this argument are to enhance the concept of disenfranchised grief in itself and to deepen appreciation of the full range of all that is or can be experienced in bereavement.

This article proposes a task-based approach for understanding and explicating coping with dying. Four primary dimensions of coping with dying are outlined (the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual). These dimensions define four primary areas of task work in coping with dying. In addition, an argument is offered as to why this task-based approach should be adopted. That argument depends on remarks about the nature of coping and an analysis of four advantages that apply to a task-based approach (improved understanding, empowerment, participation, and guidance for helpers).

No abstract

The unique developmental challenges facing persons during the formative adolescent years distinguish bereavement during this period from other portions of the life cycle, even though, understandably, there are some similarities between bereaved adolescents and bereaved adults. Thus the study of bereavement during adolescence deserves the particular attention of researchers. The objective of this chapter is to examine adolescent bereavement, provide a synthesis of adolescent bereavement research, and identify issues for future research.Although adolescent bereavement research has had a short history, a historical approach is a useful principal for organizing the chapter, because understanding its origins helps a reader see what has been accomplished in this field, understand the current limitations, and appreciate the advances made in some studies. A secondary organizing mechanism of the chapter is "development during adolescence." Adolescent bereavement cannot reliably be understood or investigated unless placed in the overall context of the developmental tasks and transitions facing adolescents.

This article offers suggestions for strengthening school-based grief support following an adolescent’s death. Such interventions must be considered within the context of: (a) development during adolescence; (b) the role of peers in adolescent development; and (c) the fact that an adolescent peer’s death is a non-normative life crisis in developed countries. Review of those three topics leads to an overview of death during adolescence; an exploration of adolescent bereavement, grief, and mourning; consideration of disenfranchised grief in relation to an adolescent peer’s death; and an integration of this foundational knowledge in supporting bereaved adolescents within a school setting.

Many who teach or are enrolled in classes on Death and Dying regularly hear critical remarks about these courses – mostly from individuals who have never attended such courses. This article suggests the value of a brief reflection on some examples of such remarks in order to put them into a more realistic context. More importantly, this article offers a depiction of what actually is taught in these types of courses. In short, this article offers a rebuttal to misrepresentations of courses on Death and Dying, while giving primary attention to what Death and Dying courses really have to teach about life and living.

This article describes the concept of adult hospice day care, argues that programs of adult hospice day care can be an important adjunct to home care and inpatient care, and provides a concrete illustration of ways in which a typical program of adult hospice day care might be implemented.

In preparing a series of annotated bibliographies on death-related literature for children and adolescents (Corr, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003a, 2003b), it became evident that this literature discusses topics related to bereavement, grief, and mourning in a variety of ways. That should not be surprising, since much of this literature was written to help children cope with experiences of death and loss. What is surprising, however, is the apparent absence of formal studies of bereavement issues in this body of literature in the major professional journals in the field of dying, death, and bereavement. This article is an initial attempt at rectifying that apparent gap in attention. It is also an effort to stimulate increased appreciation of these and other noteworthy aspects of death-related literature written to be read by or with children.