This paper explores the role of religious belief in the experiences of dying and death in a Catho... more This paper explores the role of religious belief in the experiences of dying and death in a Catholic nursing home. The home appeals to residents and their families due to the active religious presence. Thus, religion is a salient element of the “local culture” which exists in this long-term care setting. The preeminence of faith within the organization and the personal religious convictions of staff, residents, and families may drive how death and dying are discussed and experienced in this setting, as well as the meanings that are attached to them. This paper examines the relationship between faith and the experience and meaning of death in this nursing home. We present themes that emerged from open-ended interviews with residents, family members, and staff, gathered between 1996 and 2004. The data indicate that people select the home due to their Catholic faith and the home's religious tone. Themes also show that belief in God and an afterlife helps shape the experience of dyi...
Fifty Elderly African-American Women Living In Poverty Were Interviewed For A Research Project En... more Fifty Elderly African-American Women Living In Poverty Were Interviewed For A Research Project Entitled “Chronic Poverty And The Self In Later Life” Which Studies The Effects Of Long-Term Poverty On Women's Self-Concepts. The Fact That Ten Women Out Of The Forty-Five Women In Our Sample Who Bore Children Lost Them To Murder, drugs, or other forms of violence made the subject of horrendous death (Leviton, 1995) salient during data analysis. Interview transcripts from three women who lost children to horrendous death were examined for reactions to the children's deaths and subsequent thoughts and feelings about their own deaths. Key themes emerging from the women's narratives were: 1) women's experience with poverty and abandonment, their expectation that life includes suffering, and their religious faith assisted them in grief work; 2) currently, women focused on present joys and concerns rather than on past sorrows; 3) women did not articulate thoughts about their ow...
This paper is based on ethnographic research that examines family reaction to an elderly husband ... more This paper is based on ethnographic research that examines family reaction to an elderly husband and father's end of life. From a group of 30 families in our study (family defined as a widow aged 70 and over and two adult biological children between the ages of 40 and 60), we offer an extreme case example of family bereavement. We report our findings through the open-ended responses of a widow and two children who were interviewed ten months after the death of the husband and father. Three general themes emerged: (1) how the family imputes meaning to the end of life, (2) changes in the roles of family members, and (3) the family's ways of coping with the death, particularly through their belief system. A key finding is that the meaning family members find in their loved one's death is tied to the context of his death (how and where he died), their perception of his quality of life as a whole, and their philosophical, religious, and spiritual beliefs about life, death, an...
We explored how generativity and well-being merged in a group of childless older women: African a... more We explored how generativity and well-being merged in a group of childless older women: African and Hispanic Roman Catholic Religious Sisters, linking two minority identity characteristics. We qualitatively interviewed 8 Oblate Sisters of Providence (OSP), by providing a framework for examining the range of the women's generativity-cultural spheres in which generativity is rooted and outlets for generativity. Early negative experiences, such as fleeing despotism in Haiti and Cuba and racism within the Catholic Church, occurred alongside positive experiences-families who stressed education, and Caucasian Religious who taught children of color. This became a foundation for the Sister's generative commitment. Findings highlight that research gains from a phenomenological understanding of how religious faith promotes generative cognitions and emotions. Findings also reveal that the experiences of a subculture in society-African-American elderly women religious-add to theories an...
In this chapter we use case studies and men’s own words to show how each man’s caregiving style r... more In this chapter we use case studies and men’s own words to show how each man’s caregiving style reflected his sense of personal identity. We also examine if and how the legacy of his culture and family prepared him for the role of caregiver. Witnessing and taking part in caregiving earlier in life supported men’s belief in the moral worth of both affective and instrumental acts of providing care. The self-worth individuals found in caregiving both reflected and paralleled the self-esteem men found in maintaining important personal values, such as compassion, loyalty, helpfulness to others, and religious or spiritual faith.
This paper explores the role of religious belief in the experiences of dying and death in a Catho... more This paper explores the role of religious belief in the experiences of dying and death in a Catholic nursing home. The home appeals to residents and their families due to the active religious presence. Thus, religion is a salient element of the “local culture” which exists in this long-term care setting. The preeminence of faith within the organization and the personal religious convictions of staff, residents, and families may drive how death and dying are discussed and experienced in this setting, as well as the meanings that are attached to them. This paper examines the relationship between faith and the experience and meaning of death in this nursing home. We present themes that emerged from open-ended interviews with residents, family members, and staff, gathered between 1996 and 2004. The data indicate that people select the home due to their Catholic faith and the home's religious tone. Themes also show that belief in God and an afterlife helps shape the experience of dyi...
Fifty Elderly African-American Women Living In Poverty Were Interviewed For A Research Project En... more Fifty Elderly African-American Women Living In Poverty Were Interviewed For A Research Project Entitled “Chronic Poverty And The Self In Later Life” Which Studies The Effects Of Long-Term Poverty On Women's Self-Concepts. The Fact That Ten Women Out Of The Forty-Five Women In Our Sample Who Bore Children Lost Them To Murder, drugs, or other forms of violence made the subject of horrendous death (Leviton, 1995) salient during data analysis. Interview transcripts from three women who lost children to horrendous death were examined for reactions to the children's deaths and subsequent thoughts and feelings about their own deaths. Key themes emerging from the women's narratives were: 1) women's experience with poverty and abandonment, their expectation that life includes suffering, and their religious faith assisted them in grief work; 2) currently, women focused on present joys and concerns rather than on past sorrows; 3) women did not articulate thoughts about their ow...
This paper is based on ethnographic research that examines family reaction to an elderly husband ... more This paper is based on ethnographic research that examines family reaction to an elderly husband and father's end of life. From a group of 30 families in our study (family defined as a widow aged 70 and over and two adult biological children between the ages of 40 and 60), we offer an extreme case example of family bereavement. We report our findings through the open-ended responses of a widow and two children who were interviewed ten months after the death of the husband and father. Three general themes emerged: (1) how the family imputes meaning to the end of life, (2) changes in the roles of family members, and (3) the family's ways of coping with the death, particularly through their belief system. A key finding is that the meaning family members find in their loved one's death is tied to the context of his death (how and where he died), their perception of his quality of life as a whole, and their philosophical, religious, and spiritual beliefs about life, death, an...
We explored how generativity and well-being merged in a group of childless older women: African a... more We explored how generativity and well-being merged in a group of childless older women: African and Hispanic Roman Catholic Religious Sisters, linking two minority identity characteristics. We qualitatively interviewed 8 Oblate Sisters of Providence (OSP), by providing a framework for examining the range of the women's generativity-cultural spheres in which generativity is rooted and outlets for generativity. Early negative experiences, such as fleeing despotism in Haiti and Cuba and racism within the Catholic Church, occurred alongside positive experiences-families who stressed education, and Caucasian Religious who taught children of color. This became a foundation for the Sister's generative commitment. Findings highlight that research gains from a phenomenological understanding of how religious faith promotes generative cognitions and emotions. Findings also reveal that the experiences of a subculture in society-African-American elderly women religious-add to theories an...
In this chapter we use case studies and men’s own words to show how each man’s caregiving style r... more In this chapter we use case studies and men’s own words to show how each man’s caregiving style reflected his sense of personal identity. We also examine if and how the legacy of his culture and family prepared him for the role of caregiver. Witnessing and taking part in caregiving earlier in life supported men’s belief in the moral worth of both affective and instrumental acts of providing care. The self-worth individuals found in caregiving both reflected and paralleled the self-esteem men found in maintaining important personal values, such as compassion, loyalty, helpfulness to others, and religious or spiritual faith.
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Papers by Helen K. Black