Coping with bereavement of widows in the Chinese cultural context of Hong Kong

Petrus Y N Ng; Wing Chung Ho; Angela O K Tsun; Daniel Young

doi:10.1177/0020872813509395

Coping with bereavement of widows in the Chinese cultural context of Hong Kong

Petrus Y N Ng^*, Wing Chung Ho, Angela O K Tsun, Daniel Young

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Although Hong Kong has developed into a Westernized city, many widows still feel the strong pull of cultural demands in coping with the loss of their husbands. The purpose of this study was to explore how Chinese women in Hong Kong cope with bereavement and widowhood. Results reveal that the coping methods of the 26 participants are pragmatic and culturally dependent, and can be grouped into four categories, namely, remaining lonely and stigmatized, submitting to predestination and fate, seeking a transition from feeling aggrieved to active coping, and searching for new family relationships. The implications for social work practice are discussed.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	115-128
Number of pages	14
Journal	International Social Work
Volume	59
Issue number	1
Early online date	24 Mar 2014
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872813509395
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2016

User-Defined Keywords

Bereavement
Chinese widows
conception of the family
coping with grief
Hong Kong

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10.1177/0020872813509395

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title = "Coping with bereavement of widows in the Chinese cultural context of Hong Kong",

abstract = "Although Hong Kong has developed into a Westernized city, many widows still feel the strong pull of cultural demands in coping with the loss of their husbands. The purpose of this study was to explore how Chinese women in Hong Kong cope with bereavement and widowhood. Results reveal that the coping methods of the 26 participants are pragmatic and culturally dependent, and can be grouped into four categories, namely, remaining lonely and stigmatized, submitting to predestination and fate, seeking a transition from feeling aggrieved to active coping, and searching for new family relationships. The implications for social work practice are discussed.",

keywords = "Bereavement, Chinese widows, conception of the family, coping with grief, Hong Kong",

author = "Ng, {Petrus Y N} and Ho, {Wing Chung} and Tsun, {Angela O K} and Daniel Young",

note = "Funding Information: With the support of her family and financial assistance from CSSA, Ching slowly learned how to cope with the feeling of abandonment that resulted from the death of her husband. She lived in a flat paid for by her sisters. She had support from her mother, her sisters and her mother-in-law during her grieving process. She enjoyed a particularly good relationship with her sisters, and expressed gratitude for their support, although she remained in a situation of financial stringency. ",

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N1 - Funding Information: With the support of her family and financial assistance from CSSA, Ching slowly learned how to cope with the feeling of abandonment that resulted from the death of her husband. She lived in a flat paid for by her sisters. She had support from her mother, her sisters and her mother-in-law during her grieving process. She enjoyed a particularly good relationship with her sisters, and expressed gratitude for their support, although she remained in a situation of financial stringency.

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N2 - Although Hong Kong has developed into a Westernized city, many widows still feel the strong pull of cultural demands in coping with the loss of their husbands. The purpose of this study was to explore how Chinese women in Hong Kong cope with bereavement and widowhood. Results reveal that the coping methods of the 26 participants are pragmatic and culturally dependent, and can be grouped into four categories, namely, remaining lonely and stigmatized, submitting to predestination and fate, seeking a transition from feeling aggrieved to active coping, and searching for new family relationships. The implications for social work practice are discussed.

AB - Although Hong Kong has developed into a Westernized city, many widows still feel the strong pull of cultural demands in coping with the loss of their husbands. The purpose of this study was to explore how Chinese women in Hong Kong cope with bereavement and widowhood. Results reveal that the coping methods of the 26 participants are pragmatic and culturally dependent, and can be grouped into four categories, namely, remaining lonely and stigmatized, submitting to predestination and fate, seeking a transition from feeling aggrieved to active coping, and searching for new family relationships. The implications for social work practice are discussed.

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Coping with bereavement of widows in the Chinese cultural context of Hong Kong

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