The Grief Process as a Social Construct

Abstract

The grief process was observed as a social construct during a 1981–82 field study of three widows support groups in Phoenix, Arizona. The grief process was accepted by widows and professionals as a fact that was not contestable. They shared the image of a survivor as a wayfarer through the territory of grief, and the grief process was seen as an aid for the widow on her journey. There were two forms of aid: as a timetable and as a guide. As a timetable, the grief process was a list of points of demarcation along the way with specified times for reaching each. Used as a timetable, the grief process contributed to widows' distress and concern about time and events. As a guide, the grief process was a series of sign posts the traveler could notice along the way to gauge her progress through grief; differences and changes were indicated over time but no appropriate durations were stipulated. Used as a guide, the grief process contributed to rebuilding widows' previously easy definition and placement of events within the flow of time. The investigator pointed out that the grief process was originally the product of scholarly writers and that these findings have implications for interactions among widows, popular writers, professionals, and researchers.