OLDER WOMEN AND GRIEF - A NEW DIRECTION FOR RESEARCH

While the grief of older women is often assumed to result from recent losses associated with the aging process, the grief reaction of many o lder women may be influenced by much earlier losses which are unique t o women. We propose the effect of these unique losses may complicate t he grief process by intensifying both the emotional and physical react ion to recent losses. We encourage researchers to consider losses whic h are unique to women in the research on grieving in the later stages of life, so that we may understand the impact of such losses.