ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how culture affects the ways the bereaved handle grief, that is, how coping styles and grief trajectories may be different in different cultural settings. As we are using the terms ethnicity and culture, they largely overlap. The members of an ethnic group, as we are using the term, identify with each other as sharing common genetics, history, religion, language, geographic origin, governmental organization, or physical appearance. The aspect of grief that displays strong policing is in the management of continuing bonds that the living maintain with the dead. The chapter illustrates three themes in the relationships of culture to grief. First, bereavement is experienced within a cultural framework, especially in language. Second, culture polices grief, especially in the expression of emotions and the management of continuing bonds. Third, culture affects how grief is handled. A good way to look for cultural differences in handling grief is to examine the balance between loss-oriented coping and restoration-oriented coping.
