{"id":{"repo_id":"mo-state","oai_identifier":"oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-2053"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mo-state/oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-2053","repository":{"repo_id":"mo-state","name":"Missouri State University","base_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"“I Was Their Worst Nightmare”: The Narrative Experience of Military Widows","abstract":"Every year, many U.S. military families are affected by service-related deaths. However, little is known about how grief and bereavement processes are affected by military service and military culture. This study examines the experiences of military widows through qualitative, in-depth interviews. Each interview is analyzed according to narrative theory in order to understand how the participants understand their experiences with bereavement. From the data, four main themes emerge to explain how widows identify and make sense of widowhood and bereavement: (1) Shifting Identities, (2) Social Support, (3) Fractured Bereavement, and (4) (Un)Structuring Military Loss.","abstract_html":"Every year, many U.S. military families are affected by service-related deaths. However, little is known about how grief and bereavement processes are affected by military service and military culture. This study examines the experiences of military widows through qualitative, in-depth interviews. Each interview is analyzed according to narrative theory in order to understand how the participants understand their experiences with bereavement. From the data, four main themes emerge to explain how widows identify and make sense of widowhood and bereavement: (1) Shifting Identities, (2) Social Support, (3) Fractured Bereavement, and (4) (Un)Structuring Military Loss.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wehrman, Erin Christine"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in Communication","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Heather Carmack"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:16:06Z","subjects":["military culture","bereavement","death and dying","death in the military","narrative theory","Communication"],"languages":[],"rights":["© Erin Christine Wehrman"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1052","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Heather Carmack"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wehrman, Erin Christine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in Communication"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["military culture","bereavement","death and dying","death in the military","narrative theory","Communication"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© Erin Christine Wehrman"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1052"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Every year, many U.S. military families are affected by service-related deaths. However, little is known about how grief and bereavement processes are affected by military service and military culture. This study examines the experiences of military widows through qualitative, in-depth interviews. Each interview is analyzed according to narrative theory in order to understand how the participants understand their experiences with bereavement. From the data, four main themes emerge to explain how widows identify and make sense of widowhood and bereavement: (1) Shifting Identities, (2) Social Support, (3) Fractured Bereavement, and (4) (Un)Structuring Military Loss."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["“I Was Their Worst Nightmare”: The Narrative Experience of Military Widows"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Heather Carmack"],"dc:creator":["Wehrman, Erin Christine"],"dc:description.abstract":["Every year, many U.S. military families are affected by service-related deaths. However, little is known about how grief and bereavement processes are affected by military service and military culture. This study examines the experiences of military widows through qualitative, in-depth interviews. Each interview is analyzed according to narrative theory in order to understand how the participants understand their experiences with bereavement. From the data, four main themes emerge to explain how widows identify and make sense of widowhood and bereavement: (1) Shifting Identities, (2) Social Support, (3) Fractured Bereavement, and (4) (Un)Structuring Military Loss."],"dc:identifier":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1052"],"dc:rights":["© Erin Christine Wehrman"],"dc:subject":["military culture","bereavement","death and dying","death in the military","narrative theory","Communication"],"dc:title":["“I Was Their Worst Nightmare”: The Narrative Experience of Military Widows"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Communication"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in Communication"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:16:06Z"}