Grief, Coping, and Death
- Research
- Families & Health
About the Session
- 321-01 : Well-Being After Widowhood: Does Pre-Loss Marital Quality Make a Difference?
Presented by: Hyo Jung Lee, Sae Hwang Han - 321-02 : #deceased: Maintaining Post-Death Bonds on Facebook
Presented by: Lisa Moyer, Suzanne Enck - 321-03 : Protective Withholding in Couples Facing Terminal Cancer
Presented by: Eunjin Lee, Linda Roberts, Sabeena Cheema - 321-04 : "I Have So Many Regrets:" Young Adults' Experiences of Grandparent Death
Presented by: Margaret Manoogian, Juliana Vandenbroeke, Amy Ringering, Tamina Toray, Eric Cooley
Discussant: Colleen Murray
Presider: Gilbert Parra
1.00 NBCC, NASW
Abstract(s)
Well-Being After Widowhood: Does Pre-Loss Marital Quality Make a Difference?
Presented by: Hyo Jung Lee, Sae Hwang Han
The study examined the association between pre-loss marital quality and well-being among older widow(er)s. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, older Americans who were married at baseline and widowed at follow-up were selected (N=367). Ambivalence theory was applied to categorize respondents into four pre-loss marital quality groups: supportive, aversive, ambivalent, and indifferent. Compared to the ambivalent marital quality group, aversive group membership was associated with greater levels of after-loss well-being, whereas no significant difference was found in supportive and indifferent groups. Findings may help identify sub-groups of widow(er)s who are particularly vulnerable to the adverse circumstances in widowhood.
#deceased: Maintaining Post-Death Bonds on Facebook
Presented by: Lisa Moyer, Suzanne Enck
Social media platforms have changed how families and individuals interact with one another, even through bereavement. Facebook provides a particularly apt venue for facilitating ongoing bonds between the deceased and the living. The purpose of the current study was to examine how Facebook affects the grieving process with a sample of current Facebook members. In preliminary findings, participants reported that they felt that it was helpful to their grieving process to communicate about their grief on Facebook and that it allowed for the expression of feelings and sharing of memories.
Protective Withholding in Couples Facing Terminal Cancer
Presented by: Eunjin Lee, Linda Roberts, Sabeena Cheema
Using in-depth descriptions of partners' individual and dyadic coping, the purpose of this qualitative study is to discover, describe and analyze individual and dyadic processes of "withholding" in couples facing terminal cancer. Interpretive phenomenological analyses identified different motivations for withholding (e.g., altruistic, defensive) as well as multiple patterns of what and how partners withheld (from holding back particular disclosures to more pervasive disengagement). Dyadic patterns such as reciprocal disengagement and meta-protective withholding were identified. Results underscore the diverse manifestations of protective withholding in couples facing advanced cancer and the importance of rich descriptive analyses of both patient and carepartner experiences.
"I Have So Many Regrets:" Young Adults' Experiences of Grandparent Death
Presented by: Margaret Manoogian, Juliana Vandenbroeke, Amy Ringering, Tamina Toray, Eric Cooley
The death of a grandparent reverberates across families. This qualitative study focused on college students who experienced a grandparent death within four years. Participants were undergraduate students (n = 74) who answered open-ended survey questions. Students expressed the importance of grandparent deaths and how bereavement experiences were linked to grandparent-grandchild relationship quality, death trajectories, and coping skills. Students reported that family systems typically were strengthened and that grandparent death shaped personal/familial expectations and roles. Study outcomes highlight the need for bereavement support resources at colleges and for assistance as students assume new family responsibilities.