The researchers report on data gathered regarding the degree to which different age groups and genders respond to the deaths of their spouses and identify specific behaviors they used to help them move through their grief. An instrument was devised using five basic tasks of grief as the point of reference. The data indicate the participants were relatively adept at expressing all the emotions associated with their grief, including both men and women. They found that storing memories of the deceased to reinvest in their own individual lives was the most difficult task, which was particularly true for older widowed persons. Intentionality to face the pain directly seemed to be the missing ingredient to accomplish this task. Those who were widowed at a younger age were better able to move through their grief and anticipate a new positive phase in their lives.
BowlbyJ.1981. Attachment and loss. Vol. 3, Loss: Sadness and depression. London: Hogarth.
2.
CampbellJ.SwankP., and VincentK.. 1991. The role of hardiness in the resolution of grief. Omega23 (1):53–65.
3.
CareyR. G.1977. The widowed: A year later. Journal of Counseling Psychology25:125–31.
4.
ClaytonP. J.HalikasJ. A., and MauriceW. L.. 1972. The depression of widowhood. British Journal of Psychiatry120:71–78.
5.
CleirenM.1993. Bereavement and adaptation: A comparative study of the aftermath of death. Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
6.
FabesR. A., and MartinC. L.. 1991. Gender and age stereotypes of emotionality. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin17:532–40.
7.
GrossmanM., and WoodW.. 1993. Sex differences in intensity of emotional experience: A social role interpretation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology65:1010–22.
8.
HolmesT. H., and RaheR. H.. 1967. The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research11:213–18.
9.
JohnsonJ. T., and SchulmanG. A.. 1988. More alike than meets the eye: Perceived gender differences in subjective experience and its display. Sex Roles19:67–79.
10.
LawtonM. P.KlebanM. H.RajagopalD., and DeanJ.. 1992. Dimensions of affective experience in three age groups. Psychology and Aging7:171–84.
11.
LundD. A., ed. 1989. Older bereaved spouses: Research with practical applications. New York: Taylor and Francis/Hemisphere.
12.
MaddisonD.ViolaA., and WalkerW.. 1969. Further studies in conjugal bereavement. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry3:63–66.
13.
MossM.MossS., and HansoonR.. 2001. Bereavement and old age. In Handbook of bereavement research: Consequences, coping, and care, edited by StroebeM. S.HanssonR. O.StroebeW., and SchutH.. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
14.
ParkesC. M.1964. Effects of bereavement on physical and mental health: A study of the medical records of widows. British Medical Journal2:274–79.
15.
ParkesC. M., and WeissR. S.. 1983Recovery from bereavement. New York: Basic Books.
16.
PlantE.HydeJ.KeltnerD., and DevineP.. 2000. The gender stereotyping of emotions. Psychology of Women Quarterly24:81–92.
17.
RandoT.1993. Treatment of complicated mourning. Champaign, IL: Research Press.
18.
RaphaelB.MinkovC., and DobsonM.. 2001. Psychotherapeutic and pharmacological intervention for bereaved persons. In Handbook ofbereavement research: Consequences, coping, and care, edited by StroebeM. S.HanssonR. O.StroebeW., and SchutH.. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
19.
RichardsJ. G., and McCallumJ.. 1979. Bereavement in the elderly. New Zealand Medical Journal89:201–4.
20.
RimeB.1999. Expressing emotion, physical health, and emotional relief: A cognitive-social perspective. Advances in Mind-Body Medicine15:175–79.
21.
RimeB.1972. Emotions in everyday life of the elderly: Impact, coping, memory and reactivation. Unpublished manuscript, University of Louvain, Belgium.
22.
RosenbloomC. A., and WhittingtonF. S.. 1993. The effects of bereavement on eating behaviors and nutrient intakes in elderly widowed persons. Journal of Gerontology Social Sciences4:223–29.
23.
SandersC.1981. Comparison of younger and older spouses in bereavement outcomes. Omega11 (3): 217–32.
24.
SandersC.1993. Risk factors in bereavement outcomes. In Handbook of bereavement, edited by StroebeM.StrobeW., and HanssonR. O., 255–67. New York: Cambridge University Press.
25.
SmithJ.OsmanC., and GodingM.. 1990. Reclaiming the emotional aspects of the therapist-family system. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy11:140–46.
26.
StaudacherC.1991. Men and grief. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
27.
SteeleL.1992. Risk factor profile for bereaved spouses. Death Studies16:387–99.
28.
StroebeM., and SchutH.. 1999. The dual process model of coping with bereavement: Rationale and description. Death Studies23:197–224.
29.
WordenJ. W.1991. Grief counseling and grief therapy: A handbook for the mental health practitioner. New York: Springer.
30.
ZinnerE.2000. Being a man about it: The marginalization of men in grief. Illness, Crisis & Loss8 (2): 181–88.
31.
ZissokS.Chentsova-DuttonY., and ShuchterS.. 1998. PTSD following bereavement. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry10:157–63.
32.
ZissokS.PaulusM.ShuchterS., and JuddL.. 1997The many faces of depression following spousal bereavement. Journal of Affective Disorders45:85–94.
33.
ZisookS.ShuchterS.SledgeP., and MulvihillM.. 1993. Aging and bereavement. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology6:137–43.
34.
Zonnebelt-SmeengeS., and DeVriesR.. 1998. Getting to the other side of grief: Overcoming the loss of a spouse. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
35.
Zonnebelt-SmeengeS., and DeVriesR.. 2001The empty chair: Handling grief on holidays and special occasions. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
