Public stigma toward prolonged grief and COVID-19 bereavement: A vignette-based experiment.

CAUSES of death; COMPLICATED grief; COVID-19; SOCIAL support; SOCIAL stigma; CASE studies; ATTRIBUTION (Social psychology); STATISTICAL sampling; SOCIAL distancing; EMOTIONS; PUBLIC opinion; BEREAVEMENT

We investigated the effects of cause of death and the presence of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) on eliciting public stigma toward the bereaved. Participants (N = 328, 76% female; Mage = 27.55 years) were randomly assigned to read one of four vignettes describing a bereaved man. Each vignette differed by his PGD status (PGD diagnosis or no PGD diagnosis) and his wife's cause of death (COVID-19 or brain hemorrhage). Participants completed public stigma measures assessing negative attributions, desired social distance, and emotional reactions. Bereavement with PGD (versus without PGD) elicited large and significantly stronger responses across all stigma measures. Both causes of death elicited public stigma. There was no interaction between cause of death and PGD on stigma. With increased PGD rates expected during the pandemic, the potential for public stigma and reduced social support for people bereaved via traumatic deaths and people with PGD requires mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Death Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)