title: Grief experiences of 3 caregiving wives of veterans with dementia.
abstract: Three wives share their experiences of caregiving for husbands with dementia. The 3 husbands, aged 51, 71, and 84, developed dementia following years of devoted military service. To present lived experiences of caregiving wives', meanings attributed to caregiving are investigated, variations in caregiving and grieving experiences are explored, and therapeutic implications are offered. Through case study approach and with issues of caregiver grief considered, we introduce life course and ambiguous loss theoretical perspectives. Emergent qualitative themes and quantitative inventory ratings indicate significant differences in caregiver grief response depend on care-recipient age. Practice implications and directions for future care recipient, age-related research are presented.
authors.affiliation: Family and Community Resilience Laboratory (FCRL), Department of Child and Family Development, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: James L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ford
authors.forename: Brittany D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Linde
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gigliotti
authors.forename: Kye Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data