Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Marc J. Diener, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Eva Feindler, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Norman Blumenthal, Ph.D.

Abstract

While grief is a deeply individualized experience, research suggests that some coping mechanisms—such as meaning making—promote healthier psychological adjustment. Jewish mourning rituals may support meaning making, yet few studies have quantitatively examined this relationship. The present study investigated the association between observance of early Jewish mourning stages (i.e., aninut, levayah, and shiva) and both meaning making and adaptive religious coping. A sample of 60 Orthodox Jewish adults who had experienced the loss of a first-degree relative between one and five years prior to the start of the study completed measures of mourning observance, meaning making, and Jewish religious coping. Results revealed significant associations between several aspects of ritual observance and meaning making and coping. Specifically, aninut observance was significantly positively correlated with the Meaning of Significant Other subscale of the Meaning Making in Grief Scale (MMGS), shiva refrainment was significantly positively correlated with MMGS total score and meaning of significant other, and levayah observance was significantly positively correlated with scores on the Jewish Religious Coping Scale (JCOPE). Contrary to hypotheses, results indicated stronger associations between both aninut and levayah with meaning making than between shiva and meaning making. Additionally, shiva refrainment (i.e., abstention from prohibited activities) showed stronger positive correlations with meaning making as compared to active ritual performance. Findings from this study highlight the clinical utility of understanding culturally and religiously grounded mourning practices as potential pathways to meaning making. Mental health professionals working with Orthodox Jewish clients may benefit from exploring clients’ engagement with specific mourning rituals that support meaning making and religious coping.

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