Grief and older people: the making or breaking of emotional bonds following partner loss in later life
Grief and older people: the making or breaking of emotional bonds following partner loss in later life
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DOI：
10.1046/j.1365-2648.2000.01625.x
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发表时间：
2000-12-01
影响因子：
3.8
通讯作者：
Kendrick, K
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Costello, J;Kendrick, K
这项人种学研究的目的是回顾性探讨 12 名老年人的悲伤经历，他们的伴侣最近在医院去世，经历了一段时间的绝症。其基本原理是基于对刚刚失去亲人的老年人的悲伤经历的理解。在这样做时，重要的是要考虑到悲伤不仅受到文化和社会背景的影响，而且还受到哀悼者与死者之间关系的性质的影响。在本世纪的大部分时间里，与悲伤和丧亲之痛的社会经历相关的主导概念一直基于精神分析学派。据说这个过程涉及哀悼者经历的多个阶段或时期，并构成了“悲伤工作假说”的基础。通过深入的人种学访谈，探讨了哀悼者对失去亲人的反应和看法。使用内容分析和话语评估的归纳过程对录音采访数据进行分析。这项研究的结果揭示了过去很少受到关注的夫妻丧亲问题，并对传统的悲伤模式提出了挑战。有迹象表明，在丧亲之痛的第一年，丧亲者通过一系列象征性行为保留并改变了与已故伴侣的情感关系。讨论提出了需要考虑当代悲伤概念在多大程度上解释老年人的反应的问题，老年人的悲伤经历是由他们的社会处境决定的。该研究还强调了需要了解老年人悲伤经历和丧亲支持的复杂性的重要问题，这对医院和社区环境中的护士都有许多影响。
The aim of this ethnographic study was to explore retrospectively the grief experiences of 12 older people whose partners had recently died in hospital, following a period of terminal illness. The rationale was based upon developing an understanding of the grief experiences of newly bereaved older people. In doing so, it is important to consider that grief is not only shaped by culture and social context but also by the nature of the relationship between the mourner and the deceased. For most of this century, the dominant conceptualization relating to grief and the social experience of bereavement has been based on the psychoanalytical school of thought. This process is said to involve the mourner passing through a number of stages or phases and forms the basis of the 'grief work hypothesis'. Using in-depth ethnographic interviews, the mourner's reactions to and perceptions of the loss were explored. Tape-recorded interview data were analysed using the inductive process of both content analysis and discourse evaluation. The findings from this study shed light on an area of conjugal bereavement that has received little attention in the past and challenges traditional models of grief. The indications are that in the first year of bereavement, the bereaved retain and modify the emotional relationship with their deceased partners, through a range of symbolic behaviours. The discussion raises issues concerning the need to consider the extent to which contemporary conceptualizations of grief explain the reactions of older people whose grief experiences are shaped by their social situation. The study also highlights important issues concerning the need to understand the complexity of grief experiences and bereavement support for older people which has a number of implications for nurses in both hospital and community settings.