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Table 2 Prevalence of acute grief experiences and reactions (in the first 6 months post-loss) (N = 622)

From: Acute and long-term grief reactions and experiences in parentally cancer-bereaved teenagers

For the first half-year after your loss, would you agree with the statement

(see phrasing in italics below):

Do not agree

N (%)

Slightly agree

N (%)

Moderately agree

N (%)

Completely agree

N (%)

Missing

N1

DID NOT HAVE AN OKAY WAY TO GRIEVE2

“I did not have a way to grieve that felt okay.”

107/614 (17)

158/614 (26)

227/614 (37)

122/614 (20)

8

NUMBING AND POSTPONING

“I clenched my teeth, built a wall around me and lived on as if nothing had happened.”

117/616 (19)

239/616 (39)

148/616 (24)

113/616 (18)

6

CONCEALED GRIEF

“I witheld my grief to protect my other parent.”

266/615 (43)

199/615 (32)

97/615 (16)

53/615 (9)

7

OVERWHELMED BY GRIEF

“The grief was so strong it felt as if I would not survive, as if I was going crazy or was not normal.”

280/616 (45)

186/616 (30)

89/616 (14)

61/616 (10)

6

DISCOURAGED FROM GRIEVING

“People stopped me from grieving by drawing away when I was sad or praising me when I was being strong.”

349/613 (57)

171/613 (28)

60/613 (10)

33/613 (5)

9

PRESSURED TO GRIEVE

“There was pressure from others that I should be more sad than I was showing.”

328/616 (53)

172/616 (28)

78/616 (13)

38/616 (6)

6

  1. 1 Individuals with missing data are excluded from the prevalence calculations
  2. 2 To facilitate comparisons and avoid double negations, we here present the variable “I had a way to grieve that felt okay” as its negative counterpart,
  3. “I did not have a way to grieve that felt okay”