Disenfranchised grief in response to non-death loss events

Thesis (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, Psychology: Counseling, 2015Most people recognize grief in death loss situations, however grief can encompass a broad range of loss experiences and vary in intensity and meaning. Unrecognized grief can impede the grief resolution process and affect people's lives in ways they may not be aware of. The purpose of this study was to examine people's perceptions of grief in death loss events vs. non- death loss events to see if people's perceptions of death loss events vs. non- death loss events differentiate. Replicating and extending on Cohen's (1996) methodology, the study recruited a convenient online sample of 99 participants residing in the United States, ages 18-35, who completed a Life Events Survey. Paired t-tests compared participants??? perceptions of grief in response to death loss events vs. non-death loss events, on each variable a) intensity, b) loss, c) grief, d) expectation of others, and e) seeking formal counseling) to see if they differentiate. Participants indicated that their grief would be more intense in response to death events compared to non-death events., that they would consider non death loss events to be more of a loss then death loss events, that they would expect their family and friends to acknowledge their grief more in response to non-death loss events then death loss events, and that they would seek more support from others in response to non-death loss events compared to death loss events