The Grieving Process in Divorced or Widowed African Americans: A Comparative Study
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Authors
Catlin, Laura Jean
Issue Date
2001
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
This research compared the grieving experiences of African Americans who had been divorced with those who had been widowed. All 27 participants were between the ages of 27 and 78, ranged in education level from grammar school to a postgraduate degree, had an average income range from $30,000 to $40,000, had been either divorced or widowed but not both and were all African American. All participants completed a demographic questionnaire and a 55-question survey that contained 11 subscales that investigated the experience of losing one's spouse. The Grief Experience Questionnaire is a 55-item Likert-based self-administered survey that measures various components of grief. The questionnaire is divided into 11 subscales that reflect different dimensions of grief that the bereaved experience . The subscales contained in the questionnaire are somatic reactions, general grief symptoms, search for an explanation, loss of support, stigma, guilt, responsibility, shame, rejection, self-destructive thoughts, and unique reactions. The study revealed that although the experiences of both groups were similar, there were some differences. The widowed group experienced more somatic reactions (D=1.16), feelings of guilt (D=1.1), and a trend toward more general grief symptoms ( D= .74 ) than the divorced group. The divorced group experienced more feelings of rejection ( D= .71 ) than the widowed group. Much of the research on grieving has been done on Caucasian individuals, including almost all the research comparing grief in widowhood and divorce. How one reconciles the loss of a spouse through either divorce or death can vary across cultures. This research will help therapists become more familiar with the grieving experiences of African American individuals. It will help therapists understand the emotional experiences and grief reactions in African-American divorced and widowed individuals.