Anticipatory Mourning and Narrative Meaning-Making in the Younger Breast Cancer Experience: An Application of the Meaning of Loss Codebook
Breast cancer (BC) in women under 50 is a potentially traumatic experience that can upset a woman’s life during a crucial phase of her lifespan. Anticipatory mourning linked to the diagnosis of BC can produce a series of inevitable losses similar to those of the bereaved. Narration can be one tool t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/12/4/93 |
| _version_ | 1827621731846586368 |
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| author | Maria Luisa Martino Daniela Lemmo Ines Testoni Erika Iacona Laura Pizzolato Maria Francesca Freda Robert A. Neimeyer |
| author_facet | Maria Luisa Martino Daniela Lemmo Ines Testoni Erika Iacona Laura Pizzolato Maria Francesca Freda Robert A. Neimeyer |
| author_sort | Maria Luisa Martino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Breast cancer (BC) in women under 50 is a potentially traumatic experience that can upset a woman’s life during a crucial phase of her lifespan. Anticipatory mourning linked to the diagnosis of BC can produce a series of inevitable losses similar to those of the bereaved. Narration can be one tool to construct meaning, to grow through the experience, and reconfigure time perspectives during and after the illness. The aim of this study was to apply the Meaning of Loss Codebook (MLC) to the narrative context of young women with BC. An ad hoc narrative interview was administered to 17 women at four times during the first year of treatment. A thematic analysis was performed using the MLC, adopting a bottom-up and top-down methodology. The results highlight the MLC’s usefulness in capturing the experiences of the women, allowing for a greater appreciation of the nuances of the meanings embodied in their narratives. The thematic categories grounded in the MLC cover the whole experience of BC during the first year of treatment, attesting to the possibility of extending the use of the MLC to observe the longitudinal elaboration of the psychic experience of BC in addition to its established validity in the context of bereavement and loss. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:09:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cfa6420ecce041bd9a1d4a6bf4e205e4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:09:27Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-cfa6420ecce041bd9a1d4a6bf4e205e42023-12-01T00:49:59ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2022-03-011249310.3390/bs12040093Anticipatory Mourning and Narrative Meaning-Making in the Younger Breast Cancer Experience: An Application of the Meaning of Loss CodebookMaria Luisa Martino0Daniela Lemmo1Ines Testoni2Erika Iacona3Laura Pizzolato4Maria Francesca Freda5Robert A. Neimeyer6Department of Humanities, Federico II University, 80133 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Humanities, Federico II University, 80133 Naples, ItalyFISPPA Department, University of Padua, 35131 Padova, ItalyFISPPA Department, University of Padua, 35131 Padova, ItalyFISPPA Department, University of Padua, 35131 Padova, ItalyDepartment of Humanities, Federico II University, 80133 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USABreast cancer (BC) in women under 50 is a potentially traumatic experience that can upset a woman’s life during a crucial phase of her lifespan. Anticipatory mourning linked to the diagnosis of BC can produce a series of inevitable losses similar to those of the bereaved. Narration can be one tool to construct meaning, to grow through the experience, and reconfigure time perspectives during and after the illness. The aim of this study was to apply the Meaning of Loss Codebook (MLC) to the narrative context of young women with BC. An ad hoc narrative interview was administered to 17 women at four times during the first year of treatment. A thematic analysis was performed using the MLC, adopting a bottom-up and top-down methodology. The results highlight the MLC’s usefulness in capturing the experiences of the women, allowing for a greater appreciation of the nuances of the meanings embodied in their narratives. The thematic categories grounded in the MLC cover the whole experience of BC during the first year of treatment, attesting to the possibility of extending the use of the MLC to observe the longitudinal elaboration of the psychic experience of BC in addition to its established validity in the context of bereavement and loss.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/12/4/93narrativemeaning-makinganticipatory mourninglossbreast cancerwomen under 50 |
| spellingShingle | Maria Luisa Martino Daniela Lemmo Ines Testoni Erika Iacona Laura Pizzolato Maria Francesca Freda Robert A. Neimeyer Anticipatory Mourning and Narrative Meaning-Making in the Younger Breast Cancer Experience: An Application of the Meaning of Loss Codebook Behavioral Sciences narrative meaning-making anticipatory mourning loss breast cancer women under 50 |
| title | Anticipatory Mourning and Narrative Meaning-Making in the Younger Breast Cancer Experience: An Application of the Meaning of Loss Codebook |
| title_full | Anticipatory Mourning and Narrative Meaning-Making in the Younger Breast Cancer Experience: An Application of the Meaning of Loss Codebook |
| title_fullStr | Anticipatory Mourning and Narrative Meaning-Making in the Younger Breast Cancer Experience: An Application of the Meaning of Loss Codebook |
| title_full_unstemmed | Anticipatory Mourning and Narrative Meaning-Making in the Younger Breast Cancer Experience: An Application of the Meaning of Loss Codebook |
| title_short | Anticipatory Mourning and Narrative Meaning-Making in the Younger Breast Cancer Experience: An Application of the Meaning of Loss Codebook |
| title_sort | anticipatory mourning and narrative meaning making in the younger breast cancer experience an application of the meaning of loss codebook |
| topic | narrative meaning-making anticipatory mourning loss breast cancer women under 50 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/12/4/93 |
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