Filial Reconstruction: A Theory of Development through Adversity

Abstract

The grounded theory investigation reported in this article was directed toward explicating the grieving process in the parents of gay men dying from AIDS. The participants, 64 biological parents, described the phenomena. Six of their gay sons were also interviewed. Participant observation of parents and sons in support groups, in social interactions, and in the course of volunteer hospice contacts occurred over a 4-and-one-half-year period. In the closure process, those parents who closed unconditionally with their sons proceeded through a process of transcendence to filial reconstruction. This state or condition provided psychological and spiritual or moral freedom for the dying person and prepared his parents to enter an uncomplicated grieving process after his death. Only families in the sample closed the chapter in an unconditional manner.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Carl, D. (1986). Acquired immune deficiency syndrome: A preliminary examination of the effects on gay couples and coupling. Journal of Marital Family Therapy, 12, 241-247.

Cleaveland, P. H. , Walters, L. H. , Skeen, P. , & Robinson, B. E. (1988). If your child had AIDS: Responses of parents with homosexual children. Family Relations, 37, 150-153.

Dilley, J. W. , Ochitill, H. N. , Perl, M. , & Volberding, P. A. (1985). Findings in psychiatric consultations with patients with AIDS. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

Dykstra, C. , & Parks, S. (1986). Faith development and Fowler. Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press.

Erikson, E. H. (1959). Identity and the lifecycle. In G. S. Klein (Ed.), Psychological issues. New York: International Universities Press.

Erikson, E. H. (1975). Life history and the historical moment. New York: Norton.

Faulstich, M. E. (1987). Psychiatric aspects of AIDS. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 551-556.

Fowler, J. (1981). Stages of faith: The psychology of human development and the quest for meaning. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

10.

Frierson, R. L. , & Lippmann, S. B. (1987). Psychological implications of AIDS. American Family Physician, 35(3), 109-116.

11.

Gilligan, C. (1988). Psyche embedded. In Mapping the moral domain. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

12.

Glaser, B. , & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine.

13.

Kohlberg, L. (1984). The psychology of moral development: Essays on moral development. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

14.

Kohlberg, L. , & Kramer, R. (1969). Continuities and discontinuities in childhood and adult moral development. Human Development, 12, 93-120.

15.

Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3, 551-558.

16.

Morin, S. F. (1984). AIDS in one city. American Psychologist, 39, 1294-1297.

17.

Morse, J. M. (1992). The power of induction [Editorial]. Qualitative Health Research, 2, 3.

18.

Nichols, S. E. (1985). Psychosocial reactions of persons with AIDS. Annals of Internal Medicine, 103, 765-767.

19.

Piaget, J. (1968). Six psychological studies ( D. Elkind , Ed., & A. Tenzer, Trans.). New York: Vintage.

20.

Piaget, J. (1972). Intellectual development from adolescence to adulthood. Human Development, 15, 1-12.

21.

Sheehy, G. (1984). Passages. New York: Bantam.

22.

Sohier, R. (1986). Homosexual mutuality: Variation on a theme by Erik Erikson. Journal of Homosexuality, 12(2), 25-38.

23.

Sohier, R. (1991). Parents of gay men with AIDS and the dialectics of filial reconstruction. In M. Tallmer , C. Clason , R. F. Lampke , A. H. Kutscher , E. Braun , & F. Selder (Eds.), HIV positive: Perspectives on counseling. Philadelphia: Charles Press.

24.

Strauss, A. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. New York: Cambridge University Press.

25.

Strauss, A. , & Corbin, J. (1990). Basis of qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

26.

Walker, L. O. , & Avant, K. C. (1991). Strategies for theory construction in nursing (3rd ed.). Norwalk, CT: Appleton & Lange.

27.

Wilson, T. C. (1987). Counseling roles and AIDS. CAPS Capsule, 2, 2-3.