ABSTRACT
Religion is a major factor in much cemetery visitation and, even among those of no religion, tender-mindedness is still a more feminine personality dimension, regardless of whether this is genetically determined or socially conditioned. Socioeconomic status is a highly subjective concept, generally relating to factors such as education level, social and professional status, financial income, and accumulated wealth. Less positive outlook and social reinforcement, and chronic melancholia, may relate more to the unemployed and sub-professional mourners than to those of professional employment status. Occasional visits and non-visitation were reported significantly more among the professional informants, and much less in both other groups. Within the Bereavement Study, education level and professional status were identified as partial indicators of socioeconomic status, though no data was gathered on subjects’ financial income or accumulated wealth.
