Citation

Weinberg-Kurnik G, Anchoo O, Leichtentritt RD. Psychol. Men Masc. 2021; 22(4): 715-722.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/men0000362

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The unique voice of bereaved fathers of fallen soldiers has largely been ignored in Israeli discourse. Using 10 semistructured in-depth interviews, we examined the bereavement experience of Israeli fathers after the loss of a child during their army service. The interviews were analyzed using the hermeneutical phenomenology method. The fathers' bereavement experiences were characterized by swings between closeness and distance in two main contexts: (a) the father and his social environment and (b) his internal mental experiences. Three themes were identified: (a) the fathers create both distance and closeness to others; (b) closeness and distance within the fathers' internal world; and (c) the dialectic of the bereavement experience, namely the coexistence of distance and closeness. The results provide insight into the fathers' ability to "stand among the spaces," by negotiating various aspects of their selves in the context of bereavement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en