New Article: Shenkman and Shmotkin, Meaning in Life Among Gay and Heterosexual Fathers

Shenkman, G., and D. Shmotkin. “The Association Between Self-Perceived Parental Role and Meaning in Life Among Gay and Heterosexual Fathers.” Journal of Family Psychology. (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27123673

 

Abstract

The association between self-perceived parental role and meaning in life (indicated by personal growth and purpose in life) was explored among 82 Israeli gay fathers that were individually matched with 82 heterosexual fathers. Self-perceived parental role was associated with meaning in life and this association was moderated by sexual orientation, demonstrating a significant positive association between self-perceived parental role and meaning in life among gay fathers but not among heterosexual fathers. The results are interpreted in light of the unique parental role gay fathers possibly construct in the context of intentional parenting and through possible life circumstances which appear associated with increased feelings of personal growth and purpose in life.

 

 

 

New Article: Barak and Leichtentritt, Ideological Meaning Making After the Loss of a Child

Barak, Adi and Ronit D. Leichtentritt. “Ideological Meaning Making After the Loss of a Child: The Case of Israeli Bereaved Parents.” Death Studies 39.6 (2015): 360-368.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2014.958626

 

Abstract

The study provides a view of ideological meaning-making processes of 10 Israelis who lost a child examining the parents’ perspectives and written public documents. The texts and interviews were analyzed using Gadamer’s hermeneutic philosophy. Findings indicate that bereaved parents construct conflicting ideologically oriented viewpoints: doubting and affirming the Zionist ideology; ascribing sense and senselessness to the loss; and joining the ethos but keeping personal meanings. Our conclusion is consistent with theorists who reject the notion that the human narrative should be coherently unified. We point to potential links between relational dialectics and meaning-making theory and outline implications for practice.

New Article: Possick, Grandparents’ Meaning Construction of the Loss of a Grandchild in a Terror Attack

Possick, Chaya. “Grandparents’ Meaning Construction of the Loss of a Grandchild in a Terror Attack in Israel.” Journal of Loss and Trauma 20.3 (2015): 214-28.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2013.852028

 

Abstract

This qualitative research study is based on in-depth interviews with 12 grandparents who had a grandchild killed in a terror attack in Israel. Two main categories that emerged from the data analysis were (a) loss in the personal context and (b) loss in the collective context. Each category was subdivided into two groups: first, grandparents whose grief centered on specific aspects of the painful loss of an intimate connection with the grandchild and grandparents who were directly exposed to the terror attack and whose narrative focused on the traumatic memory, and, second, grandparents who constructed their loss as part of the history of anti-Semitism and grandparents who constructed their loss as part of the Israeli narrative of the struggle for the land and the state of Israel. The article demonstrates how each type highlights a different aspect of grandparental bereavement as a result of a terror attack. Clinical implications of the findings are presented.