Funeral practices and grief

Abstract

Does restricting the ceremonial/ritual arrangements around a cremation to a minimum have a negative association with grief over time? This question has increasingly concerned professionals in the funeral industry as well as those in healthcare capacities working with bereaved persons. We examined the relationship between cremation arrangements and levels of grief. Bereaved people in the UK completed questionnaires 2 to 5 months post-loss and a year later (N=233 with complete data). Complexity of the cremation service was not significantly related to grief; neither was satisfaction with arrangements (which was typically high). Results suggested that it makes no difference to grief whether a more minimalistic or elaborate funeral ceremony is chosen under conditions where the bereaved feel free to make choices that best suit their situation. We concluded that the funeral industry seems to be offering bereaved people an appropriate range of cremation arrangement choices to meet their needs. Important limits to generalizability are discussed. That funeral services serve multiple functions for bereaved persons is emphasized.

Keywords:

• grief
• bereavement
• mourning
• cremation
• funeral

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by Dignity Funerals, UK, a national provider of funeral arrangements. We are grateful to Dignity Funerals for funding this project and especially to Simon Cox, Head of Insight and External Affairs of Dignity Funerals, for facilitating this research project in many ways.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there is no financial interest or benefit arising from the direct application of this research.

Authors’ note

The research question was formulated in close collaboration with Dignity Funerals. The content of this report has been written fully independently of the funding agency. Co-author YS of Dignity Funerals facilitated the study by providing necessary data-access (confidentiality observed), but did not participate in the design, analyses or interpretation of the data.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John Birrell

Kate Woodthorpe

Margaret Stroebe

Hannah Rumble

Henk Schut

Anne Corden

Daniel Anadria

Yvette Smith

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