Psychological adjustment in grief in the United States and South Korea: Continuing bonds, meaning making, and social support

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.