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.

Keywords:

• widow
• veteran
• conjugal
• bereavement
• grief

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This project was funded by a Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR) grant and supported by the Veterans Administration. Thank you to Caring Connections for assistance identifying the population and selecting the sample and to Byron Bair, MD, for help developing methodology and for project and manuscript review.