Date

7-22-2025

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)

Chair

Seigel Bartley

Keywords

acceptance, anger, anxiety, bargaining, denial, depression, grief, loss, violence

Disciplines

Counseling | Education

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the grief experiences of African American women in the state of Georgia, ages 30 to 50, who have faced the loss of a spouse, parent, sibling, or child. The research questions were: How do African American females describe their experiences with grief resulting from loss in their immediate family? How do African American females describe the grieving process before, during, and after the loss of a loved one? How do African American females describe the coping strategies they used as they moved through their grieving process? How do African American females describe the support mechanisms they use as they move through their grieving process? The theory guiding this study was the phenomenological method of qualitative research because the intention was to study and understand the lived experiences of African American women through interviews. This study was important because African American women have experienced trauma from slavery, racism, segregation, high rates of poverty, single-parent families, incarceration, educational disadvantage, health disparities, socioeconomic stressors, and lack of support from others (Boyden et al., 2014). Data collection included a demographic survey and face-to-face interviews on Zoom. The findings of the study assists African American women in handling the trauma caused by the loss of a loved one and present strategies that the participants found helpful in enabling them to return to their day-to-day routine effectively.

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