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Reactions To Spousal Death Resulting From Cancer: A Descriptive Study Of Anticipatory Grief And The Cognitive Appraisal Of The Loss Of A Spouse, Jennifer Claire Kinyon Elison

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This study described spousal reactions to loss following a cancer related death. Anticipatory grieving behaviors and variables unique to cancer were examined using Lazarus' cognitive appraisal paradigm. An interview which focused on self-reported changes in thoughts and feelings from time of diagnosis to the time of the death was administered by the researcher to thirty men and/or women whose spouses had died from cancer over the past two and a half years.;Individual responses to the interview questions were categorized according to type of response. The findings suggest that the majority of men and/or women whose spouses have died from a …