BEREAVEMENT IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: THE GRIEF EXPERIENCE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN & LATINO COMMUNITIES

ABSTRACT

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic death rate for African American and Latinx communities is twice as high as White Americans, leaving more loved ones to cope with the difficulties of bereavement. With already existing challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the need to understand the disproportionate struggles of people of color. Methods: To study the impact, we conducted the Survey of Bereavement After Covid-Related Death. In the current study, 267 participants answered online surveys, measuring loss characteristics, demographics, depression, grief, and an option for open-ended comments. Results: Grief and depression scores were predicted by kinship relationship, participant age, and time since loss, but were not predicted by gender, race, or ethnicity in regression analyses (grief F = 6.38, p < .001;depression F = 5.30, p < .001). However, the sample was not representative of the current population, with fewer African Americans and Hispanic/Latinx individuals than in the community. Conclusion: Pandemic grief severity and depression following bereavement is predicted by factors seen in pre-pandemic grief research. However, the study revealed that there are still significant challenges among recruiting underrepresented populations in academic research, indicating that further research is necessary.