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The study investigated how two distinct perspectives apply to the role of gender in parents' memorials on The Compassionate Friends (TCF) electronic bulletin board; cyberspace as merely a mirror of societal gendered patterns of bereavement, and cyberspace as a medium or context in which societal gendered patterns of bereavement are neutralized. Data were evaluated to determine to what extent gender differences exist concerning instrumental versus intuitive styles of bereavement. Analytic categories used in assessing gender differences in parental bereavement style included the following: invoking spirituality, directing messages to the deceased, artistic expressions, and special powers accorded to the deceased. With some exceptions, the findings supported the perspective emphasizing the gender neutralizing aspects of cyberspace parental bereavement for the population studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite an historical tendency among psychologists to pathologize continuing attachment to the deceased, scholars of grief have come to appreciate that maintaining a connection to the deceased can be a healthy part of bereavement. Using Fisher's perspective on narrative, data from The Compassionate Friends bulletin board were analyzed, both quantitatively and qualitatively, to unravel how messages to the deceased contribute to a healing story of bereavement. It is argued here that messages to the deceased can be healthy due to cathartic emotion expression and maintenance of a relationship that brings solace and meaning to the bereaved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]