Grieving Styles of Young Banso Widows

Grieving is manifested differently around the world depending on culture, social desirability, and social norms. Little is known about grieving patterns in Africa. As such, a study of the grieving patterns of young widows of the Banso tribe of the Cameroon was conducted. This examination used Doka and Martin’s model of grieving styles as the lens for this research. This model delineates a continuum of grief styles: instrumental on one end, intuitive on the other, and blended in the middle. This study used the validated Grief Pattern Inventory to determine if young Banso widows in this sample are intuitive, instrumental, or blended grievers. The study employed a cross-sectional design. The results indicated that 47% of the participants were intuitive grievers and 41% were blended grievers. Policy, research, and clinical implications emerging from the results were presented.