Grief, Bereavement and Meaning Making in Older People Views from Rural China Routledge Studies in Asian Behavioural Sciences Series

Spousal bereavement seems to be one of the most devastating things a person can suffer through during the course of his or her life and it can result in adverse bio-psycho-social consequences for the left behind spouse. This book offers updated views from incorporating meaning making theory and social constructionist theory to examine the mediating roles of meaning making and help readers to understand grief and bereavement experiences of the widowed elderly population in China. The volume starts with elaborating on the meaning making model, followed by an overview of grief theories and traditional culture, including empirical feedback of the results of applying the model to Chinese elderly widows and widowers. Pan?s book concludes with a discussion on the implications and limitations of this research as well as future directions.

The volume provides valuable theoretical reflection and empirical evidence on grief and bereavement experiences of the elderly population in China. By combining meaning making theory with a social constructionist perspective, this research develops a novel approach to apply Western models and theories to the Chinese context and effectively study China?s elderly population and their grief and bereavement experiences. This volume brings the readers the benefits of understanding Chinese cultural doctrines regarding death and life, getting a comprehensive view on meaning making theory, as well as learning the specific coping skills of Chinese elderly in widowhood.

This volume merits the attention of those in the fields of mental health, social work, and gerontology to help further their understanding of meaning making systems in a non-western setting.

Acknowledgements List of Tables List of Figures Chapter 1 – Background on Grief Chapter 2 – Grief and Its Diversity Chapter 3 – Meaning Making Theory and Traditioanl Culture Chapter 4 – Perspectives from Meaning Making Model Chapter 5 – Empirical Feedback of Bereaved Chinese Elders Based on Meaning Making Model Chapter 6 – Helplessness in Bereaved Chinese Elders Chapter 7 – Conclusion and Remarks References Appendix Index

Haimin Pan is a former researcher at the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences at City University of Hong Kong and now works in Xiamen University. She also gained her PhD from the City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.