Kinship Bereavement in Later Life

This collection of articles is an outgrowth of the Death, Dying, Bereavement and Widowhood Interest Group of the Gerontological Society of America and comprises empirical accounts of several distinct family losses: the death of a spouse, sibling, parent, child, and grandchild. These articles represent normative and non-normative losses; the juxtaposition of short-term and long- term bereavement reactions; cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons; sociological, psychological, and psycholinguistic research paradigms; national and regional level data; and qualitative and quantitative analytic strategies. The articles and their approaches are as diverse and varied as are the experiences they describe, yet each contributes something of value to the more singular and superordinate goal of understanding kinship bereavement in the later years.

Brian de Vries holding a Professor of Gerontology appointment at San Francisco State University with adjunct appointments at Simon Fraser University (in Vancouver, BC) as well as the University of Alberta (in Edmonton, AB).

Introduction: Kinship Bereavement in Later Life Brian de Vries Case Histories of Traumatic Grief Holly G. Prigerson, M. Katherine Shear, Andrew J. Bierhals, Paul A. Pilkonis, Lee Wolfson, Martica Hall, Dianna L. Zonarich, and Charles F. Reynolds, III Sibling Bereavement in Late Life Judith C. Hays, Deborah T. Gold, and Carl F. Pieper The Role of Gender in Middle-Age Children's Responses to Parent Death Miriam S. Moss, Nancy Resch, and Sidney Z. Moss The Adult Child's Acceptance of Parent Death Anne R. Bower Long-Term Psychological and Somatic Consequences of Later Life Parental Bereavement Brian de Vries, Christopher G. Davis, Camille B. Wortman, and Darrin R. Lehman Grandparents' Reactions to the Death of a Grandchild: An Exploratory Factor Analytic Study P. S. Fry Kinship Bereavement in Later Life: Understanding Variations in Cause, Course, and Consequence Brian de Vries