Thinking About Women: Sociological Perspectives on Sex and Gender, 8th edition edited by Margaret L. Andersen and Dana Hysock |
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Authors: | Lynda Dickson PhD |
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Affiliation: | 1. Associate Professor and Chair University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Department of Sociology , 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO, 80918ldickson@uccs.edu |
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Abstract: | This qualitative study analyzed the conjugal grief experience of veterans' widows. The narratives yielded several themes, including the decreased self-reported symptoms of distress when widows reported having positive social support without negative social support, the development of an ongoing relationship with their deceased spouses with a mechanism for creating meaning from their loss, and the assumption of a new identity and new roles and responsibilities. Widows who ascribed a belief that external forces control their life events and those who have children with psychosocial issues reported increased symptoms of distress related to their spouses' death. |
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Keywords: | widow veteran conjugal bereavement grief |
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