Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Grieving while driving.

Paul C Rosenblatt1

  • 1Department of Family Social Science, 290 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108-6140, USA. prosenbl@umn.edu

Death Studies
|September 7, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Some bereaved individuals experience intense grief while driving, even years after a loss. This driving grief can be spontaneous or triggered, highlighting safety concerns for drivers and others.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

"It's Hard to Talk When Your Child Has a Life Threatening Illness": A Qualitative Study of Couples Whose Child Is Diagnosed With Cancer.

Journal of pediatric oncology nursing : official journal of the Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses·2020
Same author

College Faculty Member Grief Over Deaths of Current and Former Students.

Omega·2019
Same author

"The child is our focus": On couple issues in child oncology treatment.

Psycho-oncology·2018
Same author

A Review of: "AIDS Doctors: Voices from the Epidemic by Ronald Bayer and Gerald M. Oppenheimer."

Death studies·2017
Same author

Silence and Memories of War: An Autoethnographic Exploration of Family Secrecy.

Family process·2017
Same author

"We Hardly Ever Talk about It": Emotional Responsive Attunement in Couples after a Child's Death.

Family process·2017

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Bereavement Studies
  • Transportation Safety

Background:

  • Grief is a complex emotional response to loss.
  • The experience of grief can manifest in various contexts and intensities.
  • Driving environments may offer unique psychological conditions for emotional processing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the phenomenon of intense grief experienced during driving.
  • To understand the triggers and temporal aspects of grief while driving.
  • To assess the implications of driving while grieving for personal and public safety.

Main Methods:

  • Secondary analysis of qualitative data from two interview studies.
  • Inclusion of 84 participants who had experienced bereavement.
  • Thematic analysis of interview transcripts focusing on grief experiences during driving.

Main Results:

  • A subset of bereaved individuals actively grieves while operating a vehicle.
  • Grief intensity can remain high years post-loss and manifest during driving.
  • Triggers for driving grief include spontaneous emotional surges and environmental reminders.
  • Some individuals utilize driving time and privacy for emotional processing of grief.
  • Intense grief while driving poses potential safety risks.

Conclusions:

  • Driving while experiencing intense grief is a recognized phenomenon in bereavement.
  • The privacy and time afforded by driving may facilitate or intensify grief expression.
  • Recommendations for safer driving practices for bereaved individuals are warranted.
  • Further research into the intersection of grief, driving, and safety is needed.

Related Experiment Videos