Grief experiences among female American and Arab undergraduate college students

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Omega (United States)

Publication Date

12-1-2015

Abstract

© 2015 The Author(s). The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of grief among American and Arab female undergraduate students, the effects of their grief, and risk of prolonged grief disorder. A total of 471 female undergraduate students, 308 (65.4%) from the United Arab Emirates and 163 (34.6%) from the United States, completed a survey about their grief experiences. Students experiencing a significant loss also completed the Prolonged Grief Disorder Questionnaire. Findings revealed that overall approximately 38.4% (n=181) of all 471 students experienced the loss of a significant person in their lives within the past 24 months; a similar percentage was found in each sub group. Students reported various grief effects with American students experiencing more effects related to sleep, relationships, academics, physical well-being, religion/spirituality, and outlook on life than Arab students. Only a small number (10, 5.52%) of students met the criteria for prolonged grief disorder; however, most students were female Arab students. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are provided.

ISSN

0030-2228

Publisher

SAGE Publications Inc.

Volume

72

Issue

2

First Page

165

Last Page

183

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Bereavement, College Students, Female Students, Grief, Prolonged Grief Disorder, Support

Scopus ID

84960945712

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

Link to Full Text

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