EXPERIENCES OF SPOUSAL BEREAVEMENT: A QUALITATIVE STUDY FROM KASHMIR

Abstract

The death of a spouse at an earlier-than-expected stage of life has the potential to overburden the lives of women with multiple stressors. The Off-time conjugal bereavement brings the crisis-based disruption of one’s identity as changes in relationships and once-established roles need to be re-evaluated. For women in Indian societies, it is more difficult. The prevailing culture, traditions, and customs in Indian societies present multiple problems for widows in their social lives. Majority of young widows spend their lives in the upbringing of their children. Therefore, broader understanding of bereavement among such women needs to have an insight into its impact on all the facets of their lives; their personal lives; their family lives and their social lives. The present study aims to understand the experiences of spousal bereavement while they are making adjustments to their lives in their personal and social dimensions.

The paradigm of constructivism was followed to answer the research questions of the present study. In-depth interviews were conducted with eleven participants who had experienced the death of spouses in their families. The time since the death of a family member was in the range of 2 to 5 years with a mean of M= 3.1 years. The data from participants was analyzed using thematic analysis (Clarke & Braun, 2013).

Reflecting on the experience of spousal bereavement, three super-ordinate themes; loss from an Individual Perspective, Loss from a Family Perspective and Loss from Social perspective, with following sub-themes: Depression, Devastation, Physical Impact, Deprivation in family, Uncertainty for future of children, Recurrence of Grief in Family, Negative Social Attitude, Excessive and Unwanted Intrusion in Families were identified in the research.

The findings reveal that spousal bereavement has significant consequences for the young women in their personal, familial and social lives. The deep psychological and physical impact of loss in their lives has implications for grief counselors and therapists. The deprivation and uncertainties such women feel in their families needs to be taken into account while providing support services to such women. The implications of loss in their social lives indicate that there is a need to provide social education about the rights of such women and inequalities faced by them in society.