Cultural responses to loss and grief among Black Americans: Theory and practice implications for clinicians

Understanding Bereavement among College Students: Implications for Practice and Research

“…Grief is a common, shared, and universal experience. However, culture-specific experiences influence the expression and coping with grief, making it essential to understand grief and bereavement from a cultural context (Moore et al, 2020;Oltjenbruns, 1998 2011). In the United States, a distressing similarity of grief experiences among people of color involves loss through homicide.…”

“…In contrast, collectivist cultures emphasize interdependence, seeing the individual as a necessary part of the entire family unit (Ross & Wang, 2010). Relying on family support (relational coping) and continuing a close relationship with the deceased by reliving their memories, looking at their pictures, or watching their videos are common in African American, Asian, and Latinx communities (Barnes, 2006;Boulware & Bui, 2016;Inman et al, 2007;Lalande & Bonanno, 2006;Moore et al, 2020;Schoulte, 2011;Yu et al, 2016). Research has supported the adaptive and effective role of familial support in overcoming grief.…”

“…Besides relational coping, religious and spiritual coping, such as leaning on immediate family members, prayer, and increase in faith, are also commonly used by African Americans, South Asian, and Latinx (Boulware & Bui, 2016;Inman et al, 2007;Moore et al, 2020;Schoulte, 2011;Sharpe & Boyas, 2011). By contrast, research has established that members from minoritized groups are less likely than Whites to seek professional psychological help to cope with their losses (Inman et al, 2007;.…”

“…Second, college students who identify as BIPOC are underrepresented in current bereavement research and intervention studies. Future studies should attempt to recruit participants from historically underrepresented backgrounds, including but not limited to students who identify as non-White, gender diverse, low-income, first-generation, or immigrants (Moore et al, 2020;Neimeyer et al, 2008). This will provide researchers and practitioners an opportunity to develop a better understanding of the full spectrum of bereavement experiences among college students.…”

“…, Servaty-Seib andLiew (2019) addressed the importance of colleges and universities developing clear and effective leave of absence policies for students struggling with loss. The policy should provide a structured process for faculty and administration to help students who require accommodations because of bereavement, funerals, and life after a loss.The student-focused bereavement policy provides excused absences from classes that require attendance and participation and a fixed number of opportunities to complete missed coursework(Servaty-Seib & Liew, 2019).Although bereavement and grief are universal experiences shared by all, current perspectives of bereavement and grief, especially in terms of reactions to loss, coping with loss, and interventions used, tend to be dominated by a Eurocentric, individualistic-oriented worldview and experience(Moore et al, 2020). Scholars have highlighted the importance of developing or culturally adapting existing treatment and intervention to be relevant to non-White clients Sharpe and Boyas (2011).…”