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A scoping research literature review to map the evidence on grief triggers

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  • Wilson, Donna M.
  • Underwood, Leah
  • Errasti-Ibarrondo, Begoña

Abstract

Grief is understandably severe in the first days, if not weeks or months, following the death of a beloved person. Unless the mourner develops complicated grief, which is prolonged severe and impactful grief, the initial acute grief lessens in severity over time, although waves of significant grief will still occur with grief triggers. A scoping research literature review was undertaken in early 2021 to determine how often grief triggers occur, what the most common grief triggers are, the impact of triggered grief, and what can be done (by those not diagnosed with complicated grief) to manage grief triggers and mitigate the effect of them. Nine academic library databases were searched for English-language research reports using the keywords “grief trigger(s)” and “research”: CINAHL, Directory of Open Access (online) Journals, Humanities Index, JSTOR, Medline (Ovid), Periodicals Index Online, PsychArticles, Scopus, and Web of Science. Six research papers relevant for review were published in the last two decades, with some evidence gained on how often grief triggers occur, what constitutes a grief trigger, and the impact of grief triggers. Major gaps in evidence were revealed, despite grief triggers being identified as a major consideration for grief in general and for grief recovery specifically.

Suggested Citation

  • Wilson, Donna M. & Underwood, Leah & Errasti-Ibarrondo, Begoña, 2021. "A scoping research literature review to map the evidence on grief triggers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:282:y:2021:i:c:s027795362100441x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114109
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Deborah Carr & John Sonnega & Randolph M. Nesse & James S. House, 2014. "Do Special Occasions Trigger Psychological Distress Among Older Bereaved Spouses? An Empirical Assessment of Clinical Wisdom," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 69(1), pages 113-122.
    2. van der Houwen, Karolijne & Stroebe, Margaret & Schut, Henk & Stroebe, Wolfgang & Bout, Jan van den, 2010. "Mediating processes in bereavement: The role of rumination, threatening grief interpretations, and deliberate grief avoidance," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(9), pages 1669-1676, November.
    3. Oreg, Ayelet, 2020. "The grief ritual of extracting and donating human milk after perinatal loss," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    4. Nielsen, Mette Kjærgaard & Carlsen, Anders Helles & Neergaard, Mette Asbjoern & Bidstrup, Pernille Envold & Guldin, Mai-Britt, 2019. "Looking beyond the mean in grief trajectories: A prospective, population-based cohort study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 460-469.
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