Developing Understanding of Same-Sex Partner Bereavement for Older Lesbian and Gay People: Implications for Social Work Practice

Abstract

There is little research and literature exploring same-sex partner bereavement in later life or end-of-life experiences of lesbian and gay elders in the United Kingdom. This article considers this often overlooked area of social work practice and explores a range of factors emerging from a small explorative study that considers the experience of loss and bereavement for lesbian and gay elders. Discussion of issues emerging include consideration of the wider psycho-social nature of bereavement and end-of-life experiences for lesbian and gay elders, and the implications this has for social work education and practice.

Same-sex partner bereavement in older women: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

“…The women had experienced social isolation during their bereavement, supporting previous research with this population (Almack et al, 2010;Bent & Macgilvy, 2006;Fenge, 2014;Jenkins et al, 2014). The detrimental impact of social isolation on adjustment to loss has been widely explored with theories proposing that social support may buffer the effects of bereavement (Lakey & Cohen, 2000).…”

“…The women also experienced 'disenfranchised grief' (Doka, 1989) supporting previous findings with this population (Almack et al, 2010;Jenkins et al, 2014;Fenge, 2014). The disenfranchisement of grief may be a direct result of the women's desire to conceal their relationship or sexual orientation (Deevey, 2000;Fenge, 2014), which resulted in unrecognised relationships (one of the three main categories of invisible losses outlined by Doka, 1989). While the desire to conceal their relationship appears an adaptive attempt to avoid further prejudice, it may prove detrimental to women's experiences of same-sex partner bereavement, as others simply do not understand the importance of the loss.…”

“…As the primary aim of IPA research is to collect rich, detailed, first-person accounts (Smith et al, 2009), semi-structured, individual interviews were conducted to explore the women's experiences of partner loss, using an interview schedule to guide discussions. The interview schedule was devised in light of previous literature (Bent & Magilvy, 2006;Fenge, 2014) and amended following the first interview to restructure the order of some questions.…”

“…LGBT community (Almack et al, 2010;Bent & Magilvy, 2006;Fenge, 2014;Jenkins et al, 2014). Fear of discrimination may also create barriers for these women in seeking support from health and social care services following bereavement (Fish, 2010).…”

The bereavement experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or trans* people who have lost a partner: A systematic review, thematic synthesis and modelling of the literature

“…A total of 23 articles were included in the review: 34 – 56 12 qualitative, 10 quantitative and 1 mixed methods. The articles report on 13 studies (see Table 1 ) and the experiences of 555 individuals (as 10 articles are from the same study, the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) coping project, 46 , 48 – 56 the participants are not discrete samples and derive from the same data set.…”