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'Losing a Part of Yourself': How Women Grieve Their Close Friend's Death
Elizabeth W Sauber1, Karen M O'Brien1
1University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Omega
|April 15, 2025
Summary
Losing a close woman friend can lead to prolonged grief or posttraumatic growth. Avoidant coping predicts prolonged grief, while problem-focused coping predicts growth after loss in women.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Science
- Grief Studies
Background:
- Friendships offer women significant psychological and physiological benefits.
- The impact of losing a close woman friend on bereavement is understudied.
- Understanding grief and growth after the death of a friend is crucial for women's well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To qualitatively describe the bereavement experiences of women who lost a close woman friend.
- To test a model predicting prolonged grief and posttraumatic growth.
- To identify coping mechanisms and social support factors influencing grief outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative content analysis of seven women's bereavement experiences.
- Path analysis of data from 148 women grieving the death of a close friend.
- Assessment of grief reactions, coping strategies, and social support interactions.
Main Results:
- Key themes included grief reactions, disenfranchising social support, coping styles, growth, and challenges.
- Avoidant emotional coping mediated and predicted prolonged grief.
- Problem-focused coping mediated and predicted posttraumatic growth.
Conclusions:
- Coping strategies significantly influence whether women experience prolonged grief or posttraumatic growth.
- Findings inform interventions for women grieving the loss of a close friend.
- Further research and clinical practice can benefit from understanding these bereavement pathways.
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