A comparative study of family bereavement groups

Although many authors have advocated the use of bereavement support groups, little research has been done comparing groups that differ in their structure and membership. We conducted such research on five bereavement support groups offered in the Montreal area and report preliminary findings from three of them. These three groups serve widows, family survivors of suicide, and family survivors (other than parents) of the death of a family member by cancer. Although members of all groups tended to report strong satisfaction with their group experience, both the reasons for joining a group and the most valuable aspects of the group experience varied as a function of group setting and objectives.