Search

Grief as a Social Fact: A Scoping Review of Bereavement Across Terminal Illness, Suicide, and Perinatal Loss

Author(s)

Zhang Ruiqi*

Affiliation(s)

University of Jinan, Jinan, Shandong, China *Conresponding Author.

Abstract

Bereavement refers to the loss of relatives due to death, which is a common life course and a social fact. The existing psychological and psychiatric paradigms regard grief as an individual's psychological response, ignoring its social roots. From the perspective of sociology, this paper selects three typical situations of physiological disease bereavement, suicide bereavement and perinatal loss, and compares and analyzes the differences of social identity and social support behind different death types. The research shows that the expected grief caused by the death of a terminal illness has a higher degree of social recognition, and can obtain the support of relatives, friends and the community; Suicide bereaved people will be stigmatized and isolated, and have a higher risk of prolonged grief disorder; Perinatal loss is in a state of silence and deprivation of legitimacy for a long time, and sadness is difficult to be seen. The three types of grief are essentially social suffering shaped by system and culture. This paper argues that understanding and alleviating grief must go beyond individual psychological intervention, pay attention to social structural factors, and promote a more inclusive social environment and bereavement support.

Keywords

Bereavement; Death And Dying; Life Course; Anticipatory Grief; Suicide; Perinatal Loss; Stigma

References

[1] S A T ,C E W ,J A S , et al. Psychological Resilience: An Affect-Regulation Framework.[J].Annual review of psychology,2022,74547-576. [2] Greenaway S E ,Verdery M A ,Carr D . The new sociology of bereavement.[J].Annual review of sociology,2025,51357-375. [3] R N J . Grief as a social emotion: theoretical perspectives.[J].Death studies,2012,36(8):679-711. [4] Türk U ,Aydemir Ç M ,Kizil Ö T E , et al. A Comparative Study of Anticipatory Grief in Caregivers of Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Hematological Malignancy.[J].Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry,2025,66(4):320-330. [5] Natashe D L . Anticipatory Grief in Dementia: An Ethnographic Study of Loss and Connection.[J].Culture, medicine and psychiatry,2022,47(3):701-721. [6] Ehlers N ,Broom A ,Kenny K . Living and Dying in Shadow Times[J].Sociology,2025,59(2):216-230. [7] Julia T ,Viktoria S ,Michaela N , et al. Pre-loss grief and preparedness for death among caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients: A systematic review.[J].Social science & medicine (1982),2021,284114240-114240. [8] Whitebrook J ,Lafarge C ,Churchyard S J . A suicide bereavement model: based on a meta-ethnography of the experiences of adult suicide loss survivors[J].Frontiers in Public Health,2025,131596961-1596961. [9] Djelantik J M A ,Smid E G ,Mroz A , et al. The prevalence of prolonged grief disorder in bereaved individuals following unnatural losses: Systematic review and meta regression analysis[J].Journal of Affective Disorders,2020,265146-156. [10] Moreno R C J ,García C M ,Arco D H A , et al. Grief Intervention in Suicide Loss Survivors through Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: A Systematic Review.[J].Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland),2024,14(9):791-791. [11] Zhang X ,Chen Y ,Zhao M , et al. Complicated grief following the perinatal loss: a systematic review[J].BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth,2024,24(1):772-772. [12] Kazem N ,Azam F S ,Maryam R , et al. Emotional upheaval, the essence of anticipatory grief in mothers of children with life threatening illnesses: a qualitative study.[J].BMC psychology,2022,10(1):196-196. [13] Vincenzo D C ,Cena L ,Trainini A , et al. Perinatal Loss and Parents' Grief Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Method Research.[J].Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland),2024,14(4):339-. [14] Siepmann J ,Bauernfeind L ,Fischer N D , et al. Needs of parents during their intrauterine or perinatal child loss – a qualitative multi-method study[J].BMC Public Health,2026,26(1):1526-1526. [15] E. C H ,Kevin G ,Alexandre D , et al. Bereavement issues and prolonged grief disorder: A global perspective[J].Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health,2023,10(32):e32-e32. [16] Cheng M ,Luo Q ,Fang C , et al. Exploring good death in China: A qualitative study from the perspectives of family members.[J].Social science & medicine (1982),2025,367117727.