The Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement: A Cross-Cultural Examination

Abstract

The Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement (DPM; Stroebe & Schut, 1999) has provided significant insights to understand bereavement experience. However, cross-culture studies examining the applicability of DPM across cultures remain scant. The current study examined if the theoretical propositions of DPM would be moderated by both culture (Asian vs. European) and interdependent self-construal (ISC; high vs. low). Two-hundred and twentyseven adult participants from Cyprus (21.1%), Germany (14.5%), Hong Kong (24.2%), Turkey (29.1%), and other countries (10.9%) participated in an online questionnaire study measuring their coping style (loss-oriented [LO]/restoration-oriented [RO]/balance coping), dynamic oscillation (high/low), interdependent self-construal (high/low), and adjustment outcomes (i.e., grief, depression, life satisfaction, loneliness, and stress-related growth). Results of the current suggest that (1) LO coping (compared to RO and balance coping) was linked to poorer psychological adjustment (PA), (2) dynamic oscillation was associated with better PA, (3) culture and ISC did not moderate the above relationships in general, and (4) ISC moderated the relationship between coping and life satisfaction among the recently bereaved (bereaved for < 2 years), with the level of life satisfaction higher for those with a LO coping than those with a balanced coping only among those with a high level of ISC. These findings were discussed in regard of DPM.