title: Finding meaning in a traumatic loss: a families approach.
abstract: Meaning-making, like much of coping research, has been conceptualized and assessed as an individual-centered phenomenon. On the premise that most traumas affect families as a whole, we assessed the extent to which meanings following a traumatic loss were congruent within families. Qualitative and quantitative data from family members coping with the loss of a family member in a mine explosion indicated moderate family congruence in meanings and global well-being. Furthermore, greater family similarity in meaning was associated with less depressive affect in individuals (pseudo R(2)  = .063), but was not associated with individual differences in well-being. The research highlights the important role that families play in coping with trauma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. chris_davis@carleton.ca
authors.forename: Christopher G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Harasymchuk
authors.forename: Michael J A
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wohl
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008906:Mining; D014947:Wounds and Injuries