Disenfranchised grief

Disenfranchised grief is a term describing grief that is not acknowledged by society. Examples of events leading to disenfranchised grief are the death of a friend, the loss of a pet, a trauma in the family a generation prior,[1] the loss of a home or place of residence particularly in the case of children, who generally have little or no control in such situations, and whose grief may not be noticed or understood by caregivers;[2][3][4] American military children and teens in particular move a great deal while growing up,[5] an aborted/miscarried pregnancy, a parent's loss or surrender of a child to adoption, a child's loss of their birth parent to adoption, the death of a loved one due to a socially unacceptable cause such as suicide,[6] or the death of a celebrity.

Certain events that are often circumscribed by social stigma can also cause disenfranchised grief, such as the breakup or loss of a secret relationship (e.g. an extramarital affair), botched cosmetic surgery procedures, the diagnosis of a sexually transmitted infection, loss of a job, as well as other events.[7] Traditional forms of grief are more widely recognized even in nontraditional living situations. However, there are few support systems, rituals, traditions, or institutions such as bereavement leave available to those experiencing disenfranchised grief.

Even widely recognized forms of grief can become disenfranchised when well-meaning friends and family attempt to set a time limit on a bereaved person's right to grieve. For example, the need to regulate mourning and restore a state of normal work activity severely impacted the grieving process of victims of the Oklahoma City bombing, according to American scholar Edward Linenthal. Grieving for deceased children was redefined as post-traumatic stress disorder if parents were not "over it" within two weeks.[8]

Loss

Loss is one of the most common experiences that brings about grieving, and although this is often viewed as normal, there are times when it is disqualified. Some examples of when grieving over a loss is disenfranchised include: the loss of a grandchild, of an ex-spouse, of a sibling, or of a child through adoption.

Loss of a grandchild can be extremely difficult for a grandparent, but the grandparent's grief is often disenfranchised because they are not part of the immediate family. Attention and support is given to the child's parents and siblings, but the grandparent's grief is two-fold as they have not only grieving the loss of their grandchild, but are also grieving for their adult children who have lost the child. This phenomenon is termed "double-grief" by Davidson[9] and she explains that this makes bereavement even more difficult.

Loss of an ex-spouse is disenfranchised due to the lack of a current or ongoing personal relationship between the former couple. Although the marriage has ended, the relationship has not, and there are ties between the two people that will forever be there including: shared children, mutual friendships, and financial connections. Research has shown that those couples who never resolved conflicts after the relationship ended experienced much more grief than those who had.[9] The grievers experience guilt and thoughts of "what might have been", similar to those of widows.[9]

Loss of a child by adoption is often disenfranchised because the decision to give a child up for adoption is voluntary, and therefore it is not acceptable by society to grieve. Birth mothers lack support, and are expected to just move on and pretend the child does not exist. Many birth mothers experience regret and have thoughts of what might have been or of reuniting with the child.[9]

Relationships

Many types of relationships are not legitimized by society; therefore when one person in the relationship dies, the other may not have their grief legitimized and it can become disenfranchised. For example, following the death of a partner in a homosexual relationship, societal supports can tend to prioritize the immediate family, invalidating the significance of the romantic relationship and loss for the grieving partner (McNutt & Yakushko, 2013). Another example may be a former partner, such as the death of an ex-spouse (a person who the griever was previously married to, but eventually divorced). The death of an ex-spouse does not typically receive the same recognition as the death of a current spouse. Another type of relationship is one in which the griever and the person who died did not necessarily have a close personal relationship. This relationship may include coworkers, doctor and nurse relationships with patients, or even people that the griever does not know personally at all, such as celebrities.[10] Relationships formed online are often not recognized or validated by society, for example where friendships are made through online games and social media. However, when one person dies, the griever or person that did not die in the relationship will often experience disenfranchised grief (Doka, 1989).

Responses

There are many models for dealing with grief. The Kubler-Ross model describes grieving in five steps or stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Kubler-Ross, 1969). In other words, in order to begin grieving one must first endorse the loss, and then express emotion. The griever must then accept the loss and adjust to the change the death or loss caused in his or her life (Cordaro, 2012). Over the years, however, how grief is conceptualised has moved away from predictable stages that lead to 'recovery' or 'closure', towards an understanding of grief that addresses the complexity and diversity of the grieving experience (Australian Psychological Society, 2016). Models such as Worden's tasks of grief (2008) and the dual-process model (Stroebe and Schutt, 1999) offer frameworks for dealing with grief in a way that enhances the self awareness of the grieving person (Australian Psychological Society, 2016).

Disenfranchised grief presents some complications that are not always present in other grieving processes. First, there are usually intensified reactions to death or loss. For example, the griever may become more depressed or angry due to not being able to fully express his or her grief. Secondly, disenfranchised grief means society does not recognize the death or loss; therefore, the griever does not receive strong social support and may be isolated. As disenfranchised grief is not legitimized by others, the bereaved person may be denied access to rituals, ceremonies, or the right to express their thoughts and emotions (McKissock & McKissock, 1998). When supporting someone through disenfranchised grief it is important to acknowledge and validate their loss and grief (McKissock & McKissock, 1998).

See also

References
  1. Kempson, Diane; Conley, Virginia M.; Murdock, Victoria (2008). "Unearthing the Construct of Transgenerational Grief: The "Ghost" of the Sibling Never Known". Illness, Crisis & Loss. 16 (4): 271–284. doi:10.2190/IL.16.4.aa. S2CID 144807471.
  2. Sheppard, Caroline H.; William Steele (2003). "Moving Can Become Traumatic". Trauma and Loss: Research and Interventions. Nat'l Inst for Trauma and Loss in Children. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  3. Pettit, Becky (March 2000). "Moving and Children's Social Connections: the critical importance of context" (PDF). Center for Research on Child Wellbeing Working Papers. CRCW, Princeton University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  4. Oesterreich, Lesia (April 2004). "Understanding children: moving to a new home" (PDF). Iowa State University. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  5. Wertsch, Mary Edwards (April 23, 1991). Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress (1st hardcover ed.). Harmony. p. 350. ISBN 0-517-58400-X.
  6. Stepp, G (2007). "Disenfranchised Grief". Vision Journal. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2012-12-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. Linenthal, Edward, The Unfinished Bombing, Oklahoma City in American Memory (Oxford Univ. Press, 2001), pp. 94-98. ISBN 0-19-513672-1
  9. Davidson, Hannah. "A Review of the Literature on Three Types of Disenfranchised Grief: Grandparent Grief, Grief of Birthmothers Following Adoption, and the Grief of Ex-Spouses" (PDF). www.uwstout.edu. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  10. Wilson, Janet; Kirshbaum, Marilyn (13–26 May 2011). "Effects of patient death on nursing staff: a literature review" (PDF). British Journal of Nursing. 20 (9): 559–563. doi:10.12968/bjon.2011.20.9.559. ISSN 0966-0461. PMID 21647017.

Sources
  • Aloi, J. A. (2009). Nursing the disenfranchised: Women who have relinquished an infant for adoption. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 16(1), 27–31. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2850.2008.01324.x
  • 2. Cordaro, M. (2012). Pet loss and disenfranchised grief: Implications for mental health counseling practice. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 34(4), 283–294.
  • 3. Doka, K. J. (1989). Disenfranchised grief: Recognizing hidden sorrow. Lexington, MA, England: Lexington Books/D. C. Heath and Com.
  • 4. Havelin, L. (2012, February 3). Children and Pet Loss. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  • 5. Humphrey, K. (2009). Counseling strategies for loss and grief. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
  • 6. Kamerman, J. (1993). Latent functions of enfranchising the disenfranchised griever. Death studies, 17(3), 281-287
  • 7. Kubler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying. New York, NY: Scribner.
  • 8. McNutt, B., & Yakushko, O. (2013). Disenfranchised grief among lesbian and gay bereaved individuals. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 7(1), 87-116.
  • 9. Perrucci, A. (2014, October 7). High court refuses to rule—and gives tacit victory—on same-sex marriage. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  • 10. Purtuesi D.R. (1995) Silent voices heard: impact of the birth- mother's experience then and now.
  • 11. Some, Sobonfu (Photographer). (2012, May). Embracing Grief. Retrieved from http://www.universalflag.com/2012/05/02/embracing-grief-by-sobonfu-some/.

Further reading
  • Kenneth J. Doka, editor. Disenfranchised Grief: Recognizing Hidden Sorrow Lexington Books, 1989. ISBN 0-669-17081-X
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