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Gender differences in grief narrative construction: a myth or reality?
Eva-Maria Stelzer1, Ciara Atkinson1, Mary-Frances O'Connor1
1Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
European Journal of Psychotraumatology
|December 7, 2019
Summary
Grief narratives show similarities between genders, with specific linguistic markers relating to psychological adjustment and grief avoidance. Language use in bereavement offers insights into mental health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Linguistics
- Bereavement Studies
Background:
- Narratives are crucial for recovery after death.
- Linguistic features of grief narratives can indicate adjustment to loss.
- This study explored gender differences in grief expression and linguistic markers of psychological functioning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate gender differences in how bereaved individuals discuss loss.
- To examine the relationship between linguistic markers and psychological functioning.
- To explore gender-specific associations between language use and psychosocial outcomes.
Main Methods:
- 50 bereaved individuals (29 women, 21 men) completed questionnaires and interviews.
- Grief narratives were analyzed using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC).
- LIWC software categorized words into linguistic and psychological dimensions.
Main Results:
- First-person pronoun use did not correlate with psychological distress.
- No predicted gender differences were found in emotion/social process words or word count.
- First-person pronoun use linked to grief avoidance; linguistic markers associated with depression in females but not males.
- Nonfluencies related to distress in men only.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest gender similarities in grief narrative expression.
- Linguistic markers in grief narratives are meaningful indicators of psychological adjustment.
- Specific language patterns correlate with different psychosocial outcomes, with some gender-specific associations.
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