Death at a Distance: A Study of Family Survivors

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a social-psychological investigation of bereavement conducted in the metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul over a period of twelve months. Information was solicited using both questionnaires and home interviews from 558 bereaved persons, including spouses (434), parents (85), and adult children (39) responding to the death of an elderly parent. Strong emotional ties were evidenced in each of the three subsamples and a wide variety of physical and emotional reactions were demonstrated by all three groups following the death.

One of the most important findings of the study is that the type of relationship severed by the death is an important determinant of the nature of the grief experienced by survivors. For example, within the adult child sample, the data suggest that the death of elderly parents is less disruptive, less emotionally debilitating and generally less significant for surviving adult children in terms of the continuity and stability of established behavioral patterns than for the other two groups. The adult child group also displayed less illness during bereavement than either the surviving parents or surviving spouses and were less likely to utilize traditional funerary rituals.

It is hypothesized that these observed differences reflect significant changes in the larger society, including 1) the nature and function of the nuclear family and its members, 2) institutionalization of the dying and professionalization of their care, and 3) cultural conceptions of the meaning of life and death. Discussion focuses on the theoretical implications of the findings as they relate to the impact of death, grief and bereavement on the contemporary family, as well as to specific issues relevant to practicing clinicians in their attempts to aid families coping with separation and loss.