שיתוף ושותפות: אבל מתמשך בקרב אלמנות צה"ל שנישאו בשנית

Background: For many years, military widows who remarried lost official recognition of their military-affiliated status. After a long legal battle, the Ministry of Defense was mandated to restore support to hundreds of remarried military widows. This study examines these widows’ grief processes from an ecological viewpoint; the relationships between the partners in this process: widows, their second spouses, and the social environment.Aims: To study longitudinal grief processes among remarried military widows, their manifestation in spousal relations, and the impact of social policy changes.Method: A qualitative, interpretative, phenomenological research project was conducted through semi-structured in-depth interviews with 29 remarried widows.Findings: Most participants described lifelong grieving processes involving members of their newly established families. These processes existed along two axes: time and sharing. Various ways of maintaining the relationship with the deceased partner were described, most involving the current partner. Few participants described marital conflict regarding this issue. Participants welcomed the restoration of their official rights, many describing emotional support received from representatives of the Ministry of Defense. Nevertheless, approximately half said that their contact with the Ministry was minimal and that they preferred to rely on their natural support systems.Conclusions and Implications for Practice and Policy: Their new partner and social policy are predominant in shaping how military widows deal with grief. Aid policy should be tailored to the diverse emotional needs of these women and their families