THE ASSOCIATION OF GRIEF WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND THE ROLE OF LONELINESS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

ABSTRACT

In this study, we aimed to gauge the effects of the process of bereavement on mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore the mediating role of loneliness on the relationship between grief and mental health alterations by surveying a representative sample of 2000 Spanish adults interviewed by phone during the pandemic (February-March 2021). There has also been an increase in death rates from other causes during the pandemic, sometimes attributed to treatment for other life-threatening diseases being postponed or health care visits being avoided to prevent infection (Stroebe & Schut, 2021). By contrast, a group of bereaved (10 % after natural death and 50% after death due to unnatural causes) experience intense grief that persists longer than what would normally be expected (Djelantik et al., 2020), characterized by an enduring and overwhelming sense of yearning or preoccupation with the deceased and significant emotional suffering that causes functional impairment in daily life. Some authors have stated that researchers studying mental health in relation to the pandemic should include grief as a potential contributory factor (Bertuccio & Runion, 2020).