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Lindamulage Mithun Dilantha Deva Adithiya
Dean of the Faculty of Behavioural Sciences
KIU University, No. 249/1, Malabe Road
Battaramulla, 10120, Sri Lanka
ORCID : https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2742-3137
Abstract— Grieving is a universal human experience shaped by deeply ingrained cultural norms, values, and belief systems. This enhanced manuscript explores the multifaceted nature of grief across six distinct cultural contexts—North American, Western European, East Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Indigenous traditions—through a combination of rigorous literature analysis and an original survey study. We investigate the form and function of mourning rituals, patterns of emotional expression, structures of social support, and culturally prescribed durations of bereavement. Our expanded findings elucidate how each culture negotiates pain and remembrance, from the onward passage of ritual processions in South Asia to the quiet ancestral altars of East Asia, from the public wailing in Middle Eastern ceremonies to the storytelling circles of Indigenous communities.
Fig.1 Cultural Differences,Source([1])
Quantitative analyses (ANOVAs and thematic coding) reveal significant differences in comfort with emotional display (F(5,594)=32.47, p<.001), satisfaction with communal support (F(5,594)=18.64, p<.001), and preferred mourning lengths. Qualitative themes underscore the centrality of ritual validation, communal memory work, and the negotiation of private and public grief. These insights affirm that effective bereavement care demands cultural attunement: clinicians and support networks must integrate ritual practices, honor expression norms, engage community-based resources, and respect culturally sanctioned timelines. We conclude with practical recommendations for designing culturally informed grief interventions and propose avenues for future cross-cultural grief research.
Keywords— grief rituals; emotional expression; social support; cross-cultural mourning; bereavement practices
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