Spousal Bereavement in Late Life

by Carr, Deborah

• ISBN13: 9780826142443
• ISBN10: 0826142443
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-11-01
• Publisher: Springer Pub Co

Summary

Rutgers University, New Jersey. Text focuses on the challenges and resources of older widows and widowers. Topics include a comparison of the bereavement experiences of men and women, methodological advice for studying the bereavement process, new theoretical perspectives on grief, critiques for current therapies and practices, and more. For social workers and practitioners.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xvii
Margaret S. Stroebe
Preface	xix
Introduction: A History of the Changing Lives of Older	xxi
Couples Study
Randolph M. Nesse, Camille B. Wortman, and James S. House
Study Origins	xxi
The Americans' Changing Lives (ACL) Study	xxiii
The Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) Study	xxv
The Primary Data Analysis	xxviii
Part I. Studying Bereavement: Methodological Innovations and Contextual Influences
1. Understanding Late Life Widowhood: New Directions in Research, Theory, and Practice	3	(16)
Deborah Carr, Camille B. Wortman, and Randolph M. Nesse
Aims of the Volume	4	(2)
Chapter Summaries	6	(13)
2. Methodological Issues in Studying Late Life Bereavement	19	(30)
Deborah Carr
Research Design and Sample Issues	20	(6)
Importance of Multiple Outcomes in Bereavement Research	26	(4)
Unexplored Pathways: Identifying the "Black Box" of Widowhood	30	(3)
The Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) Study	33	(16)
3. How Older Americans Die Today: Implications for Surviving Spouses	49	(32)
Deborah Carr, Camille B. Wortman, and Karin Wolff
How Americans Die: A Brief History of Mortality	49	(3)
Death Timing and Bereaved Spouses' Well-being	52	(3)
The Strains of the Dying Process	55	(6)
Living Arrangements and Medical Care at the End of Life	61	(7)
Conclusion and Outlook	68	(13)
Part II. Personal Consequences of Spousal Loss
4. Psychological Consequences of Spousal Loss Among Older Adults: Understanding the Diversity of Responses	81	(36)
Karin Wolff and Camille B. Wortman
Late Life Spousal Loss	82	(3)
Assumptions Guiding Prior Research	85	(5)
Variability in Response to Conjugal Loss: The Role of Risk Factors	90	(5)
Gender Differences	95	(5)
Remarriage	100	(4)
Conclusions and Implications	104	(13)
5. A Closer Look at Health and Widowhood: Do Health Behaviors Change After the Loss of a Spouse?	117	(26)
Amy Mehraban Pienta and Melissa M. Franks
Does Health Decline After Spousal Loss?	118	(8)
Data and Methods	126	(1)
Measurement of Dependent Variables	126	(2)
Independent Variables	128	(1)
Analysis	128	(1)
Results	129	(7)
Conclusion	136	(7)
6. Interpersonal and Spiritual Connections among Bereaved Older Adults	143	(24)
Stephanie L. Brown, James S. House, and Dylan M. Smith
Coping With Loss: The Role of Interpersonal and Spiritual Connections	144	(6)
Further Evidence From the CLOC Project	150	(11)
Discussion and Conclusion	161	(6)
7. Economic and Practical Adjustments to Late Life Spousal Loss	167	(28)
Rebecca L. Utz
Marital Transitions: From Single to Married to Single Again	167	(4)
The Dual Process Model of Coping	171	(1)
The Changing Lives of Older Couples Study	172	(8)
The Individual Experience of Bereavement	180	(4)
Revising Our Assumptions About Bereavement	184	(3)
Conclusion	187	(8)
Part III. New Perspectives on Grief and Bereavement
8. Evolutionary Framework for Understanding Grief	195	(32)
Randolph M. Nesse
Attachment Theory	199	(3)
Relationship Loss	202	(1)
John Archer's Assessment	203	(2)
Is Grief a Specialized Kind of Sadness?	205	(3)
Assessing Possible Evolutionary Explanations of Grief	208	(10)
Implications for Research	218	(9)
9. Widowhood, Grief and the Quest for Meaning: A Narrative Perspective on Resilience	227
Robert A. Neimeyer
The Narrative Dimension of Human Life	228	(2)
Narrating the Self: From Cognitive Science to Clinical Significance	230	(1)
Grief and Bereavement in Narrative Perspective	231	(3)
Pathways Through Bereavement	234	(8)
Research and Clinical Implications	242	(4)
Conclusion	246	(9)
Part IV. Implications For Practice, Policy, and Future Research
10. Clinical Interventions with the Bereaved: What Clinicians and Counselors Can Learn from the Changing Lives of Older Couples Study	255	(24)
Anthony D. Mancini, David L. Pressman, and George A. Bonanno
Evidence For the Efficacy of Clinical Interventions with the Bereaved	256	(2)
Common Clinical Assumptions About Bereavement	258	(3)
Basic Grief Outcome Trajectories	261	(1)
Bereavement in Older Adults	262	(2)
Findings From the Changing Lives of Older Couples Study: Identifying the Varieties of Grief Reaction	264	(3)
Clinical Implications of the Changing Lives of Older Couples Findings	267	(5)
Conclusion	272	(7)
11. Implications for Public Policies and Social Services: What Social Workers and Other Gerontology Practioners Can Learn from the Changing Lives of Older Couples Study	279	(34)
Virginia E. Richardson
Clinical Interventions and Public Policies	281	(14)
Critique of Interventions and Public Policies	295	(1)
Findings From the Changing Lives of Older Couples Study	296	(8)
Implications for Education and Training	304	(9)
12. The Future of Late Life Spousal Bereavement	313	(11)
Deborah Carr
Diversity in the Older Population	314	(4)
Changing Demographic and Economic Contexts	318	(3)
Conclusion	321	(3)
Index	324