Abstract:
The present study aims to identify the mourning rituals and practices that young adults
from Turkey perform or participate in and to examine their role in the adjustment to
grief. A qualitative research design and thematic analysis method were used. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eleven young adults who lost their parents.
Seven superordinate themes were determined as a result of the analysis: (1) experience
of seeing the corpse; (2) funeral and burial practices and rituals; (3) condolence house;
(4) special cultural and religious rituals and practices; (5) roles of people in cultural
rituals; (6) individual rituals and practices; (7) family rituals and practices. The results
of the current study suggest that mourning rituals and practices may play a role in
acceptance of loss and can facilitate the grieving process. The findings are discussed
in the context of the literature and the grief theories
