摘要：The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis unparalleled in recent history, with more than 100 million confirmed cases and close to 3 million deaths worldwide. Grief researchers were early to recognize the potentially severe emotional consequences for the millions of people bereaved due to COVID-19. For example, experiencing sudden death after intensive care, limited opportunities to engage in grief rituals and obtain social support, and secondary stressors were suggested as factors that could lead to more severe mental health problems in this population. Despite a wild growth of expert opinions on grief during the pandemic in scientific journals and popular media, research on this topic has been slow to develop. This symposium, therefore, provides an overview of pioneering empirical studies on the mental health of COVID-19 bereaved people during the pandemic conducted around the globe. First, dr. Maarten C. Eisma will present a comparison of acute grief levels between Dutch adults bereaved due to natural causes, unnatural causes, and COVID-19. Second, dr. Lauren Breen will present the relation between post-loss mental health problems and functional impairment in American adults bereaved by COVID-19. Third, dr. Suqin Tang will present a first investigation of the prevalence of prolonged grief disorder and a more general investigation of the demographic and loss-related correlates of mental health among COVID-19 bereaved Chinese adults. Together, these contributions will illustrate the variety of severe mental health problems and associated impairment experienced after COVID-19 bereavement worldwide. Clinical implications and directions for future research will be discussed.
