Attitudes ten opzicht van nabestaanden, maakt de doodsoorzaak uit?

Abstract

In this study the attitudes people have towards bereaved were researched. 170 respondents have filled out a questionnaire in which four hypothetically described causes of death (homicide, natural death, suicide and traffic accident) were presented. For each cause of death the respondents were asked how much social support they think they needed and how much social support they think they would give to the bereaved. Social support is divided into emotional- and instrumental support. The expectation was that there would be a difference in the sort and amount of social support within each cause of death and between the different causes of death. The results show that for every cause of death the respondents think that the need for emotional support is higher than the need for instrumental support. They also think that they would give more emotional support than instrumental support after each cause of death. The results further show that there are sex differences. Looking at the results we can say that the respondents of this study have different attitudes towards the bereaved depending on the cause of death.