Pathological Grief: The Role of Religion and Meaning-Making

Abstract

Introduction. The death of a loved one is a profound and pervasive human experience, in some cases leading to an adverse grief trajectory resulting in maladjustment and psychiatric problems. Belief systems, such as religion or spirituality, are thought to facilitate incorporating negative life events such as loss through meaning making. This study aimed to uncover the potential effect of religious affiliation, expressed through either identification with or engagement in religion or spirituality, on the level of pathological grief (PG) and mediated through meaning making. Method. Dutch and German bereaved individuals (N = 248) who had lost a loved one at least 6 months prior were interviewed by phone to assess religious affiliation, meaning making and pathological grief symptoms. Religious affiliation was measured through single items measuring identification with a religious/spiritual conviction group and engagement in religious/spiritual activities. PG symptoms were assessed through the Traumatic Grief Inventory – Clinician Administered. Independent samples t-tests, Spearman’s rank-order correlations and mediation analyses were performed. Results. There was no significant difference in means of PG between religious/spiritual and non-religious/non-spiritual participants. Significant correlations were found between more religious engagement and more meaning making, and more meaning making and lower PG levels. Discussion. No total effect of religious affiliation was found, however religious engagement was found to have a positive effect on meaning making and more meaning making lead to lower levels of PG. Further sound methodological research is necessary to extrapolate the working mechanism underlying the found associations.