Immigrants Coping with Transnational Deaths and Bereavement: The Influence of Migratory Loss and Anticipatory Grief

Abstract

This study examines immigrants' experiences of bereavement and coping with the deaths of family members in a transnational context. Data were collected through in-depth personal interviews with middle-aged and older immigrants from different countries of origin, who have been living in the United States for a majority of their adult lives. Thematic analysis of participants' narratives showed that immigrants' geographic distance from family complicated caregiving circumstances and rituals surrounding burial, and impacted the grieving process. At the same time, this distance also served as an emotional barrier and provided protection from prolonged grief. Immigrants' U.S.-based family and work responsibilities served as buffers from prolonged grief. Over time, immigrants became Americanized in their attitudes toward coping with death and favored a fast return to productive activities. Finally, immigrants' experience of migratory loss and anticipatory grief early in immigration, along with their personal growth and resilience developed over time, impacted their bereavement experiences later in life. Considering the limitations and the exploratory nature of the present study, further research is needed to investigate the specifics of coping with loss and bereavement among immigrants.

How do Funeral Practices Impact Bereaved Relatives' Mental Health, Grief and Bereavement? A Mixed Methods Review with Implications for COVID-19

“…Forty-four articles underwent full-text review, with 17 included in the analysis (Figure 1; Table 2). Eleven observational and six qualitative studies were identified.Most were conducted in the U.S. (Bolton & Camp, 1987;Doka, 1985;Fristad, et al , 2001;Gamino et al, 2000;Grabowski & Frantz, 1993;Nesteruk, 2018;Saler & Skolnick, 1992;Silverman, 1987;Vandercreek & Mottram, 2009;Weller et al, 1988;Zisook & DeVaul, 1983) in White Christian populations.Other country settings were Hong Kong (Chan et al, 2005;Pang & Lam, 2002), Australia (Kissane et al, 1997), Netherlands (Mitima-Verloop et al, 2019, Rwanda (Schaal et al, 2010) and Turkey (Aksoz-Efe et al, 2018). The included articles, published between 1983 and 2019, were of variable quality (Tables 3 and 4).…”

Y el luto sigue (and the grief continues): Latinx Immigrant's Experiences of Ambiguous Loss in the Age of Restrictive Immigration Policy

“…Immigrants leave loved ones and places behind, yet they remain present in the psyche of the immigrant (Type 1, Falicov, 2002). Additionally, immigrants' loss of homeland is reflected in loss of language, foods, music, and feeling homesickness (Espin, 1987; Nesteruk, 2018). Moreover, many immigrants grieve the physical absence of their family due to not being able to visit family members because of their immigration status.…”

“…A scant amount of studies examined anticipatory or disenfranchised grief among Latinx immigrants, but several studies examine complicated grief (Nesteruk, 2018). Immigrants express feelings of sadness and guilt in their inability to return to their homeland; they may experience desperation when a loved one is terminally ill, about to die, or has died (Bravo, 2017).…”

COVID-19 private burial with 25 persons in the lens of the mortuary rites culture in Ghana

“…Similar technological initiatives in performing mortuary rites have been undertaken in other countries. Virtual attendance through live streaming of the mortuary rites (Kuyvenhoven, 2020) is carried out in India (Nesteruk, 2018), UK (UK Government, 2020), Kashmir, Ireland, Canada (Hamid & Jahangir, 2020). Muslim elders above the age of 70 who used to perform the Ghusl and Kafan mortuary rites for the death have been taught how to use Skype and Zoom in instructing volunteer youth on the procedures of those death rituals from exposing them to the COVID-19 (Hirji et al, 2020).…”