2020/08/25 by Carl Becker, Carl B. Becker, Yozo Taniyama +4
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health #Health disparities and outcomes #Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving
paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/0030222820947573
crossref issued 2020/08/25 · crossref published 2020/08/25 · crossref published-online 2020/08/25 · openalex publication_date 2020/08/25 · crossref created 2020/08/26 · crossref published-print 2022/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/05/01 · crossref indexed 2026/07/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Grief has been shown to weaken bereaved persons' health, but measurements of their lost time and medical expense remain rare. Funerals traditionally managed and assuaged grief through ritual expression, approval, and social support. Research suggests that satisfying funeral participation reduces grief, while poverty exacerbates it. We hypothesized that: (1) psycho-physical symptoms of grief, (2) abbreviation/dissatisfaction in the funeral, and (3) poverty, correlate with decreased productivity and increased medical and social services use. We collected data from 165 mourning families about their grief, funerals, and subsequent medical conditions. (1) Deeper grief after bereavement in Japan correlated with more physical problems, more down time, and more medical dependency. (2) Low satisfaction with funerals correlated with higher hospital, pharmacy, and counseling costs. (3) Low income families lost more time, while declining incomes showed increased pharmaceutical costs. This suggests that satisfying funerals and income safeguards may reduce costs of low productivity and increased public services dependency.