title: Experiences of veterans' widows following conjugal bereavement: a qualitative analysis.
abstract: This qualitative study analyzed the conjugal grief experience of veterans' widows. The narratives yielded several themes, including the decreased self-reported symptoms of distress when widows reported having positive social support without negative social support, the development of an ongoing relationship with their deceased spouses with a mechanism for creating meaning from their loss, and the assumption of a new identity and new roles and responsibilities. Widows who ascribed a belief that external forces control their life events and those who have children with psychosocial issues reported increased symptoms of distress related to their spouses' death.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, College of Nursing, University of Utah, 10 S. 2000 E., Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. Katherine.Supiano@hsc.utah.edu
authors.forename: Sara C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Katherine P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Supiano
mesh_terms: D001293:Attitude to Death; D001601:Bereavement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008016:Life Change Events; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014728:Veterans; D017805:Widowhood / Q000523:psychology*