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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| The impact of conjugal bereavement on older men's identities | | Author(s) | Paul Wendon-Blixrud |
| Journal title | PSIGE Newsletter, no 103, April 2008 |
| Publisher | Psychologists' Special Interest Group in Elderly People - PSIGE, British Psychological Society, April 2008 |
| Pages | pp 11-20 |
| Source | http://www.psige.org.uk |
| Keywords | Older men ; Widowers ; Bereavement ; Personality ; Adjustment ; Social surveys. |
| Annotation | There is a relative lack of research regarding older men and conjugal bereavement. This paper reviews the existing literature on identity to produce a conceptual model of the processes involved, which is then explored in a group of older men following the loss of their wives. Seven bereaved men were interviewed twice to obtain narratives regarding their life before their wives' illness, during the illness and after the loss. The analysis is based on Stevens and Doerr's (1997) multi-staged narrative analysis, supplemented where necessary. The results of the study supported the conceptual model, highlighting the benefits of congruence between people's behaviours and environments and their narratives and identities. Common identity processes were noted across the sample as well as differences in their experiences of bereavement, how they managed or used these processes (and influences on the processes), and their differing abilities to achieve congruence. The findings highlight the impact of conjugal bereavement on the identity processes of older men and the potential difficulties they face. The findings are discussed in relation to existing literature, future research and clinical practice. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-080428207 A |
| Classmark | BC: SPA: DW: DK: DR: 3F |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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