title: Starting over: a tentative theory exploring the effects of past relationships on postbereavement remarried couples.
abstract: Using grounded theory methodology 24 participants were asked to discuss how the death of a previous spouse, either theirs or their partner's, was currently affecting their second marriage. Participants were interviewed individually and as a couple. The central category was memories of the deceased spouse. Six additional categories emerged from the data: past spouse on pedestal, current/past comparison, insecurity of current spouse, curiosity about past spouse/relationship, partner's response to curiosity, and impact on the current relationship. Existing literature, auditors, and participant feedback were all used to validate the results. Expanding on a tentative theory (Brimhall, Wampler, & Kimball, 2008), provisional hypotheses were developed, thus helping clinicians who work with complex issues involving remarried couples.
authors.affiliation: Counseling and Family Therapy, Saint Louis University, 3500 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA. abrimhal@slu.edu
authors.forename: Andrew Scott
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Brimhall
authors.forename: Michelle Lee
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Engblom-Deglmann
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001601:Bereavement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011582:Psychological Theory; D018454:Spouses