Bereaved parents' experiences of anger as a part of their grieving process: a qualitative analysis

This study demonstrates the multifaceted nature of anger in bereavement following the Utøya terror attack. Anger was experienced in different ways: absent, natural, or complicating, highlighting its complexity as a grief response. Particularly, self-directed anger emerged as a marker of psychological distress, consistent with prior research on complicated grief. Although the interview data did not explicitly address the influence of cultural and societal norms, the broader collective response to the attack may have shaped emotional expression among the bereaved. The absence of anger in some participants, coupled with their concern about this absence, suggests an internalisation of normative grief expectations. This underscores the need for future research to examine how collective identity and cultural framing influence emotional regulation in traumatic bereavement.