Meaning Reconstruction in Bereaved Family Caregivers of Person’s With Alzheimer’s Disease: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify whether meaning reconstruction was associated with indicators of bereavement adaptation in 66 spouses and adult child caregivers of person’s with Alzheimer’s disease. A cross-sectional mixed-methods design was used. Hierarchical regression models were used to examine whether meaning making predicted grief, depression, and positive and states of mind in the sample. Qualitative interviews were conducted to gain further knowledge about ways in which Alzheimer’s disease caregivers construct meaning during bereavement. The majority of participants reported experiencing positive aspects of meaning reconstruction. Benefit-finding and identity change contributed to reductions in grief, and benefit-finding contributed to positive states of mind. Being a spouse and female gender contributed to increased grief and depression. Bereaved caregivers who are at risk for high levels of grief should be targeted for grief therapy interventions that foster meaning making.

Prolonged grief, reconstruction of meaning, and posttraumatic growth in nursing home residents who have lost loved ones

“…7 In addition to the grief experience, older adults often report a search for finding or reconstructing meaning in their lives after the death of a loved one. 8 In Neimeyer's constructivist approach, creating and reconstructing meaning after a death involves mourners reconciling with the loss, recognizing the growth or benefit that the experience of loss may have brought them, and reorganizing their personal identity. Meaning-making is a beneficial and positive experience for the grieving person.…”