This paper explores meaning-making in stories about transcendent experiences of continuing bonds with deceased loved ones. In doing so, we assume an ontologically neutral position on the veridicality of the experience and focus on the narration and interpretation of experiencers themselves. We describe and characterize a corpus of personal stories on transcendent experiences with regards to (i) narrative meaning-making and tellability, (ii) the way in which the transcendent experience affects the narrator's relationship to the loss, and (iii) the stories' epistemic framing and consequent epistemic attitudes of the narrator. We found that synchronicity and symbolism play an important role in interpreting transcendent experiences as meaningful. Furthermore, the stories showed a positively valanced transformative trend, with narrators often emphasizing how transcendent experiences provided comfort and a new perspective on their loss. Lastly, narrators often assumed an ambiguous epistemic attitude toward their experiences, sometimes describing how these triggered a change in their attitude toward death and the afterlife.

Older women are disproportionately affected by spousal bereavement, yet little is known about how social, lifestyle, and positive psychological factors correlate with grief-related symptoms and depression following partner loss. We examined these associations among 1946 older women (mean age =84.6 years) in the Women's Health Initiative who experienced spousal or partner loss during COVID-19. Changes in social connection, physical activity, and positive psychological attributes were evaluated in relation to yearning, intrusive thoughts, and depressive symptoms. Multinomial and binary logistic regression estimated adjusted odds ratios; stepwise regression identified parsimonious models. Severe loneliness was associated with approximately threefold higher odds of intense yearning, intrusive thoughts, and depressive symptoms. Conversely, greater optimism, purpose in life, and spiritual well-being correlated with lower symptom burden. More frequent walking was associated with lower depressive symptom odds. These findings highlight potentially modifiable psychosocial and lifestyle factors associated with grief-related and depressive symptoms among bereaved older women.

Many bereaved college students find their peers' support to be unhelpful. This study explored whether previously unexamined individual-difference factors and experimental priming of felt security (i.e., confidence in support availability) can influence supportive responses to a bereaved peer among university students (N = 202; 76% female; 44% White, 24% Asian, 15% Black, 10% Multiracial, 8% other identities). Attachment insecurity (avoidance and anxiety) predicted less supportive responses, whereas previous personal experience with loss predicted more supportive responses. Students who were randomly assigned to a brief experimental intervention to boost felt security (i.e., security priming) reported being more likely to help a bereaved peer. Security priming also moderated the associations between attachment avoidance (but not anxiety) and both empathy and personal distress. Additionally, previous experience with loss strengthened the association between security priming and lower caregiving anxiety. This study offers insights into factors that may bolster peer support for bereaved individuals.

Gatekeeper training programs are a key strategy in suicide prevention, enhancing individuals' ability to identify and respond to suicide risk. Perceived self-efficacy is central to intervention, yet its assessment in Spanish-speaking contexts remains limited. This study translated, culturally adapted, and examined the psychometric properties of the Spanish Gatekeeper Self-Efficacy Scale (GKSES). A total of 255 students completed the GKSES alongside measures of suicide literacy, attitudes toward suicidal behavior, and suicidal ideation. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a one-factor model with adequate fit and high internal consistency. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance were supported across gender and faculty. GKSES scores showed a positive association with suicide literacy, whereas the expected association with attitudes toward suicidal behavior was not supported. Past-year suicidal ideation was associated with GKSES scores and examined as an external correlate. Findings provide initial support for the reliability and validity of the Spanish GKSES among university students in Spain.

Suicide prevention gatekeeper training programs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remain underexamined. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized evidence on their effectiveness for trainees and community suicide-related outcomes. Forty-six studies involving 8,569 trainees across 20 LMICs were included. Repeated-measures meta-analyses showed immediate improvements after training in attitudes (Hedges' g = 0.90), knowledge (g = 1.07), confidence (g = 1.27), competence (g = 0.57), and behavior (g = 0.92). A multilevel pooled meta-analysis of 47 immediate post-intervention effect sizes from 26 repeated-measures studies indicated a large overall improvement across trainee-level outcomes (g = 1.02, 95% CI [0.69, 1.36]), with substantial heterogeneity. Attitudes, knowledge, and confidence gains were sustained at 12 months, whereas competence gains were not sustained at 6 months. Controlled studies were sparse. Only one repeated-measures study assessed community-level outcomes and found no significant reduction in suicide attempts. Evidence for sustained behavior change and population-level impact remains limited.

This qualitative study examines how mothers negotiate maternal identity following the accidental death of a child under their care with perceived and/or attributed maternal responsibility. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 18 mothers who experienced such loss, the findings conceptualize motherhood as an ongoing process of moral negotiation shaped by responsibility, legitimacy, and loss. Three interrelated domains were identified: normalization practices that reframe the loss within a shared field of vulnerability; relational engagement with remaining children, through which maternal legitimacy is renegotiated; and the emergence of new life, where subsequent pregnancies and births introduce possibilities for both maternal reaffirmation and renewed destabilization. Across these domains, maternal identity is not restored but continuously negotiated under conditions of persistent self-doubt and social scrutiny. These processes are closely tied to psychological distress and efforts to sustain caregiving. The findings highlight the need for trauma-informed, non-blaming, and identity-sensitive approaches in supporting bereaved mothers.

This study examines perceived non-ordinary end-of-life experiences (NOEoLEs) witnessed or reported by the hospice palliative care team and explores their influence on the accompaniment of dying patients, the team's work, and their attitudes toward death and afterlife. A qualitative research design was adopted, including 37 members of the interdisciplinary team from an Italian hospice. According to team members, patients and their relatives frequently report perceived non-ordinary end-of-life experiences (NOEoLEs). While patients typically respond positively to such experiences, relatives may experience fear or distress. Healthcare professionals tend to have positive or emotionally neutral responses, often interpreting NOEoLEs as a meaningful and legitimate part of the end-of-life process. Encounters with NOEoLEs appear to influence care practices and foster reflection on personal spirituality and views of death and the afterlife. Overall, these experiences may enhance patient care, improve support to relatives, and contribute to shifts in personal perspective on life and death.

Loss of a child from a multiple birth pregnancy presents unique challenges due to the simultaneous experience of grieving the child who died while caring for the surviving child. Peer support is valuable for bereaved parents, yet little research has explored this within the context of multiple birth loss. This study examined the 'pearls of wisdom' that mothers would offer to fellow bereaved parents. Eighteen mothers were recruited from a private UK Facebook group supporting parents after multiple birth loss and completed an online qualitative survey about the advice they would give others. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Two themes were generated: (1) Managing the stigma of grief and (2) Embracing grief in your own way. Mothers emphasized prioritizing their own needs, finding unique strategies for managing grief and seeking social support. Greater awareness of multiple birth bereavement is essential to support mothers as they navigate grief.

There are few studies examining internet cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for grieving children. No studies have examined qualitative insights from children and parents/caregivers about views of internet interventions for grief. Bereaved children were recruited from a sample of 48 participants, aged 6-12 years, who had been randomized to the intervention arm of a four-week, unguided internet CBT intervention for grief. There were 17 participants, including nine bereaved children (Mage = 8.33 years, SD = 2.06; 56% female, 44% male) and eight parents/caregivers who engaged in a qualitative interview. Interactive activities, videos and audio clips were frequently cited as positive components of the intervention. Bereaved children said they felt less alone in their grief after the intervention. Areas for improvement in the intervention were noted, including simplified language, tailored content, and guidance. Time constraints were a barrier to uptake. Future research should evaluate age-tailored modules, greater interactivity, and optional therapist guidance.

Psychological adjustment following a loss involves grief-related proceses that may be common across cultures and culturally shaped. Continuing bonds, meaning making, and social support play significant roles in bereavement adjustment, yet their roles may vary across cultural contexts. In this cross-national study, we investigated similarities and differences in the relations among psychological distress, salient grief-related variables (i.e., internalized/externalized continuing bonds, meaning making, and implicit/explicit social support), and psychological adjustment among grievers in the U.S. and South Korea. After accounting for age and gender, psychological distress and the Emptiness and Meaninglessness subscale of meaning making were associated with psychological adjustment in both groups. Among U.S. participants, age and the Being Present subscale of meaning making were positively associated with psychological adjustment, whereas the Sense of Peace subscale of meaning making was negatively associated. Among South Korean participants, implicit social support was positively associated with psychological adjustment. Findings highlight shared and culturally distinct patterns in grief-related adjustment across the two cultural contexts. Clinical implications and future research are discussed.

This study examined the moderating role of daily harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP) in the association between daily contact with patient death and suffering, and daily burnout and vitality. Grounded in job demands-resources theory, HP was expected to serve as a personal resource, reducing burnout and enhancing vitality. Conversely, OP was anticipated to function as a personal demand, exerting opposite effects. Motivational synergy theory suggested that higher levels of both HP and OP would interact synergistically to mitigate burnout and foster vitality. A daily diary study with 100 ICU professionals over five workdays revealed that HP prevented burnout and enhanced vitality among employees facing death and suffering. OP alone showed no effect, but when combined with daily HP, it strengthened vitality derived from such exposure. Findings highlight the need of cultivating HP and aligning organizational goals with ICU professionals' well-being amid daily contact with patient death and suffering.

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into grief and bereavement care represents a significant technological shift with therapeutic potential and ethical complexity. This paper establishes evidence-informed assumptions and principles to guide the responsible development and use of AI technologies in grief support, addressing the needs of bereaved individuals, families, communities, professionals, technology developers, and policymakers. We define "Grief AI" as applications spanning five core technological domains: Natural Language Processing for information seeking and therapeutic conversations; Computer Vision for emotion analysis and immersive experiences; Machine Learning for trajectory forecasting and treatment matching; Conversational and Generative AI for grief bots; and Integrated Multimodal AI incorporating advanced autonomous systems. The paper classifies these applications into low-, medium-, and high-risk categories based on factors including depth of user engagement, AI autonomy, potential for psychological harm, level of human supervision, and posthumous consent considerations. The paper acknowledges unresolved tensions regarding the authenticity of AI-generated empathy, cultural evolution versus inappropriate technologization of sacred experiences, implications for healthy grief adaptation, environmental ethics, and professional transformation. These provocations highlight the need for ongoing dialogue as the field evolves. We conclude that AI technologies can complement human-centered grief support through responsible development characterized by interdisciplinary collaboration, transparency, cultural sensitivity, and an unwavering commitment to human dignity and welfare over commercial interests.

Death, bereavement, and grief "etiquette" describes a felt-sense of "right," "wrong," "appropriate," "inappropriate," "should" and "must" in death and bereavement contexts. Etiquette was explored qualitatively through eleven semi-structured interviews with reflexive thematic analysis used to answer the question: Where does etiquette arise in death and bereavement contexts, and what does this "look like"? All but one participant were bereaved individuals recruited via gatekeeper organizations. Etiquette arose in how individuals remembered their loved ones (funerals, talking about the deceased) and in spaces of remembrance (e.g., Facebook, gravesites). Findings offer psychotherapeutic practitioners common points of reference to help resolve conflict between clients with opposing etiquettes as well as specific re-frames to enable wider grief expression and practices. Etiquette is a useful theoretical concept for both professionals and the public, the knowledge of which bolsters wider initiatives to build grief literacy and compassionate communities.

In contexts of prolonged insecurity, existential threat becomes a central organizing principle of collective life. Terror Management Theory (TMT) has focused on intrapsychic responses to mortality salience. However, researchers have paid less attention to how public discourse constructs mortality-related threats. This study examines how political communication articulates and manages existential threat over time. Using a qualitative thematic analysis of speeches by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a hybrid inductive-deductive approach informed by TMT, the findings show that political discourse progressively constructs threat as a continuous condition, expanding across social boundaries and reshaping collective belonging. Discourse mobilizes cultural worldviews, identity, and self-esteem as anxiety buffers and positions leadership as an additional symbolic resource. These findings extend TMT by demonstrating that political discourse socially produces and discursively maintains mortality salience.

Patients in a permanent vegetative state present unique emotional, ethical and relational challenges for those who care for them, whose physical presence yet psychological absence may expose staff to ambiguous loss, vicarious grief and disenfranchized grief. This qualitative study used reflexive thematic analysis to explore the lived experiences of 13 healthcare assistants working in a vegetative-state unit in north-east Italy, drawing on semi-structured interviews about caregiving, emotional burden, grief and anticipatory treatment declarations. Five themes were developed, describing care as emotionally complex and requiring continuous negotiation between attachment and protective detachment, alongside ethical distress over prolonged treatment and profound shifts in views on life and death. Caring for these patients involves complex, often unrecognized grief; psychological support, reflective spaces, death education and training on ambiguous loss may help staff process emotional burden and sustain humanized care.