From Grief to Growth: Online Support and Emotional Resilience Among Chinese Pet Owners After Pet Loss

Abstract

Death and grief research has begun to explore how online groups support emotional recovery, yet their role in fostering long-term resilience remains understudied. This study examines how online support groups foster emotional resilience among individuals grieving pet loss. Based on semi-structured interviews with 15 long-term users, the findings identify four themes: emotional support and safe expression, the formation and function of support networks, emotional release and reconstruction, and cognitive reframing of death. These groups provide a low-judgment, high-acceptance space for emotional expression, compensate for limitations in traditional support networks, and facilitate meaning-making and belief anchoring, thereby supporting emotional recovery and inner growth. The study underscores the role of digital communities and highlights implications for culturally adaptive and personalized grief interventions.

Keywords

online group emotional resilience social support pet loss grief communication

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