Maxine is a 56-year-old widowed African-America women who is current resides in a homeless shelter in Los Angeles, CA and has been homeless for over ten years. Maxine has also tragically not only her husband but one of her sons who died in the war in Afghanistan. Maxine has two other sons but of her other sons are out of the picture and live on the east cost of the United States.
Psychological components
One of the worst fears for parent to have is for them to outlive their own children. As mention above Maxine has experience the death of her of one of her sons. Researches by mental health experts have studied the psychological effects death has on a parent who has outlived their child, the effects the researchers found can influence the individual’s wellbeing (Meij, Stroebe, Shut, Stroebe, Bout, Heijden, Dijstra, 2008). Maxine reported that the death of her son had her grief-stricken and brought up depression that her brother died in the war in Vietnam. …show more content…
This can have an impact on Maxine psychological health. Losing a spouse can be one of the most stressful events in one-person life (Hamilton, 2005). Maxine reported feeling like a “zombie through life.” This can correspond with feeling lonely after a death of a spouse. After the death of a spouse, many people feel they have a lack of support. With one son already, dead and the other two sons are not a support system. Maxine’s loneliness will have an effect on her psychological. When a person loses a spouse, depression can occur. The depression is usually only short-term, however, there is a chance for the depression can last for years (Hamilton,