Similarity of Perceptions of Bereavement Experiences between Widows and Professionals

Abstract

Widows and four groups of professionals (clergy, physicians, counselors, and funeral directors) were compared in regards to their perceptions of conjugal bereavement. Results suggested consistent differences between widows' self-perceptions and professionals' views regarding the impact of bereavement and the necessity for adaptative coping mechanisms to deal with loss. Professionals saw bereavement as having a more negative impact and requiring the use of coping skills to a greater extent than did widows. Such differences remained when age at bereavement or length of widowhood were taken into account. Professionals' perceptions of conjugal bereavement were similar to one another. Help-seeking behaviors, age at bereavement, and length of bereavement differentiated widows, while experience in counseling widows failed to separate professionals. Both age-related experiential differences with loss and gender differences in coping with loss may explain these findings. These data underscore the importance of efforts to bring widows and professionals into direct contact with one another in order to lessen misperceptions of conjugal bereavement.