Social Identity and Prolonged Grief Following the Loss of a Companion Animal Amongst University Students

Celeste Lonsbery

With as much as 60% of the Western world living with at least one companion animal in the home, most Americans will be affected by companion animal loss at some point in their life. The goal of this study was to determine how social identity is related to grief reactions following the loss of a companion animal within the university population. The study had a low number of participants, but the results indicate that there may be a correlation between social identity and intense grief reactions amongst university students.