Evaluations of Funerals and Health Trajectories in the Second Year After Bereavement—The Ongoing Japan National Survey

Abstract

Our nationwide postal survey analyzing 190 responses from Japanese bereaved who had responded a year earlier found that funeral dissatisfaction rose during the second year after the funeral. Controverting previous research advocating participation in funeral planning, elderly bereaved spouses forced to decide about and/or pay for the funeral showed elevated grief as much as 2 years later. While not reaching levels diagnosed as prolonged, traumatic, or complicated grief, nevertheless one out of three of our bereaved sample showed continuing daily symptoms of grief from 14 to 24 months after their bereavement, with continued or increasing use of tranquillizers or antidepressants. The medical and pharmaceutical costs incurred by mourners more than a year after bereavement warrant further research into what factors improve or exacerbate the health of grieving bereaved, not limited to a single year after the bereavement.