Modelling Types of Bereavement and the Psychological Structure and Consequences of Grief

Modelling Types of Bereavement and the Psychological Structure and Consequences of Grief: Advancing Knowledge and Research Capability using UK and Irish Data Resources.

This research project seeks to advance our understanding of bereavement and grief by developing and utilizing large-scale datasets from the UK and Ireland. Despite grief being a universal human experience, the psychological and health consequences of bereavement remain under-researched, particularly when compared to conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder.

The project aims to address significant knowledge gaps, such as the variability in psychological responses to grief and the absence of a clear taxonomy for different types of loss. It will also explore the boundaries between prolonged grief disorder (PGD) and other mental health conditions.

The research is structured around three primary work packages (WPs). WP1 focuses on reviewing and cataloguing existing data resources on bereavement and grief, culminating in the creation of an online 'Bereavement and Grief Data Archive Research Portal' to provide easy access to relevant datasets for researchers. WP2 aims to develop and test comprehensive models for PGD and its relationship to other psychological conditions, using cutting-edge statistical techniques.

WP3 will use administrative data from Northern Ireland to examine the long-term physical and mental health impacts of bereavement at both the individual and household levels, leveraging linked census data and the General Register Office Register of Deaths over a 10-year period.

This project will improve access to critical data and contribute to our understanding of grief and its psychological effects, with the goal of informing policy and clinical practices.