Sibling loss: The experience of mourning in early adulthood.
Item
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Title
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Sibling loss: The experience of mourning in early adulthood.
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Identifier
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AAI9720129
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identifier
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9720129
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Creator
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Pike, Elizabeth H.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Laurence J. Gould
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Date
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1997
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical | Psychology, Social | Sociology, Individual and Family Studies
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Abstract
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The death of a sibling is generally recognized to be a significant and traumatic loss for the surviving sibling, especially if the loss occurs in childhood (Cain et al. 1963; Davids, 1993; Rosen, 1985, 1986). However, little is known about the subjective experience of losing a sibling in early adulthood and what it means to mourn the death of an adult sibling.;This study was a qualitative exploration of the subjective experience of losing a sibling in early adulthood and of the mourning process that ensues. This study attempted to understand the multiple meanings the death can come to have for the surviving sibling, to examine how this loss becomes integrated into the life of the surviving sibling, and to understand more fully the complexities of the mourning process of sibling death in early adulthood.;Seven women who had lost a sibling between the ages of eighteen and thirty-one volunteered for three to four unstructured interviews. The death of the sibling had occurred at least five years prior to participating in this study.;Thematic analysis of the data revealed the following: (1) mourning the loss of a sibling in early adulthood is a process that unfolds slowly, over time, and seems not to be characterized by an end point or point of resolution. It is a process that requires resynthesis, and working through at different times in the surviving sibling's life. (2) Manifestations of survivor guilt were evident five or more years after the death. What is significant to the surviving sibling in early adulthood is the self-punishing aspect of survivor guilt with respect to meeting the challenges of this developmental period. (3) Overall, surviving siblings experience their parents to be limited in their emotional availability and attunement to their psychological needs. (4) After the death of a sibling, it is eventually possible to derive meaning from the loss. Surviving siblings become acutely aware of their own mortality, the fragility of life, they are able to accept that many events in life are out of one's control, and feel skilled in their ability to prioritize what is important to them.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
