1. Nature of the attachment
   The most intense and difficult grief reactions often occur when the attachment between the bereaved and the deceased was very strong; when the deceased was needed to support the survivor's sense of self-worth and esteem; when the survivor was highly dependent on the deceased; or when the relations was highly ambivalent.
   
2. Mode of death
   The manner of death influences the grief response.  A sudden death is often more difficult to grieve than one with advance warning.  the natural death of an older person is usually not as difficult to grieve as the accidental death of a young child, a murder or a suicide.  The bond between a child and grandparent may be stronger than the child's bond with a parent.
   
3. Historical antecedents
   How the griever handled previous losses and how well those losses were resolved can help predict the griever's response to the current loss.  A history of major depression or other emotional disorders may contribute to a more difficult period of mourning.
   
4. Personality variables
   A person's ability to tolerate emotional pain and anxiety, and the ability to express feelings, can influence reactions to a death.  Mourners with a history of adequate coping with other stresses, including other deaths, are more likely to be able to cope with the current death.  However, if previous losses included deaths of elderly friends or grandparents, the ability to cope with those deaths may not predict the ability to cope with the unexpected, or violent death of a child.

Other personality variable affecting reactions to a death include introversion and extroversion.  Extroverts want to express  their grief to others.  They find comfort in company and support groups.  Introverts, on the other hand, tend to experience grief in a more solitary manner.  They find solace in being alone or with a close friend.  They may not talk about their grief for a while.

Some grievers experience their grief on a feeling level while other experience their grief on a more cognitive or thinking level.  Grievers with "feeling" personalities cry and want to be in touch with the emotions of grief.  Those with more cognitive personalities tend to process grief in a more logical, orderly manner.  "Thinkers" may not want to dwell on something that cannot be changed, such as the death of a loved one.  each of these ways of grieving, and many others, are appropriate ways to grieve.  

5. Social Factors
The availability of support from framily, friends, and the work-place can also influence our reactions to death.  Coping with a death may be more difficult if the mourner has moved frequently, is estranged or geographically separated from other family members, or is not involved with a church or other supportive network.

Lack of cultural guidelines and rituals for grieving also affect our reactions to death.  Cultures with established rituals and models for mourning, especially rituals that mark the time of mourning as a special phase, provide guidelines about what is normal during grief.