This review aims to determine the impact of the disappearance of migrants on their family members, to identify their grief management needs, and to describe interventions carried out to date, exploring reports on the grief of relatives of people who disappear in any context. A search of the literature retrieved 24 publications. It was found that the disappearance produced an impact at individual, family, and community level. The primary requisite of relatives was knowledge of the location of their loved one, besides the need for emotional, social, and economic support and recognition of their suffering. There have been few reports of family support interventions, although recommendations have been proposed for their design and implementation. The relatives of migrants are especially vulnerable due to geographic, political, and legal obstacles. The impact of the disappearance and the need for support were found to be highly varied. Further research and interventions on this issue are required.
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Faúndez AbarcaX.Azcárraga GaticaB.Benavente MoralesC.Cárdenas CastroM. (2018). La desaparición forzada de personas a cuarenta años del golpe de estado en Chile: Un acercamiento a la dimensión familiar. Revista Colombiana de Psicologia, 27(1), 85–103. https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v27n1.63908
9.
HaglM.PowellS.RosnerR.ButolloW. (2015). Dialogical exposure with traumatically bereaved Bosnian women: Findings from a controlled trial. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 22(6), 604–618. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.1921
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HollanderT. (2016). Ambiguous loss and complicated grief: Understanding the grief of parents of the disappeared in Northern Uganda. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 8(3), 294–307. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12153
IsuruA.HewageS. N.BandumithraP.WilliamsS. S. (2018). Unconfirmed death as a predictor of psychological morbidity in family members of disappeared persons. Psychological Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291718003793
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Kajtazi-TestaL.HewerC. J. (2018). Ambiguous loss and incomplete abduction narratives in Kosovo. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 23(2), 333–345. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104518755221
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KovrasI.RobinsS. (2016). Death as the border: Managing missing migrants and unidentified bodies at the EU’s Mediterranean frontier. Political Geography, 55, 10–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2016.05.003
16.
LenferinkL. I. M.de KeijserJ.PiersmaE.BoelenP. A. (2018). I’ve changed, but I’m not less happy: Interview study among nonclinical relatives of long-term missing persons. Death Studies, 42(6), 346–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2017.1347213
17.
LenferinkL. I. M.de KeijserJ.WesselI.BoelenP. A. (2018). Cognitive-behavioral correlates of psychological symptoms among relatives of missing persons. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 11, 311–324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41811-018-0024-y
18.
LenferinkL. I. M.de KeijserJ.WesselI.de VriesD.BoelenP. A. (2017). Toward a better understanding of psychological symptoms in people confronted with the disappearance of a loved one: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 20(3), 287–302. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017699602
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LenferinkL. I. M.EismaM. C.de KeijserJ.BoelenP. A. (2017). Grief rumination mediates the association between self-compassion and psychopathology in relatives of missing persons. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 8(Suppl. 6), 1378052. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2017.1378052
20.
LenferinkL. I. M.van DenderenM. Y.de KeijserJ.WesselI.BoelenP. A. (2017). Prolonged grief and post-traumatic stress among relatives of missing persons and homicidally bereaved individuals: A comparative study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 209, 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.11.012
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