The Role of Culture, Existential Thinking and Meaning Making and their impact on Grief Responses

Abstract

Τhe present study examines 1) the mediating role of meaning making on the relationship between existentialism and complicated grief 2) the moderating role of positive growth on the existentialism and complicated grief relation and 3) the role of existentialism and meaning making on the grief responses between a masculine (Greece) and a feminine country (Netherlands). A non-clinical sample of a total 223 bereaved individuals from Greece (130) and Netherlands (93) filled out online questionnaires on the ICG scale, the UGRS, the ISLES, the PG and the Existential scale. The results indicated that meaning made of the loss partially mediated the association between existentialism and complicated grief as well as that positive growth moderated the existentialism and grief relation. As per our last hypothesis no differences were found on the course of bereavement with both countries to show high levels of grief regardless their existential level and their ability to make sense of the loss. Furthermore, heightened existential awareness and meaning making was overall more apparent in the feminine country compared to the masculine one. Although based on cross-sectional data, these findings provide additional support for awareness and meaning oriented understandings of adaptation to loss between a feminine and a masculine country.