720758
research-article2017
JFIXXX10.1177/0192513X17720758Journal of Family IssuesSimhi-Meidani and Koren
Article
When Late-Life
Repartnering and
Parental Death
Intertwine: Adult
ChildrenàPerspectives
Journal of Family Issues
2018, Vol. 39(6) 1639±663
he Author(s) 2017
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https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X17720758
DOI: 10.1177/0192513X17720758
journals.sagepub.com/home/jfi
Shiran Simhi-Meidani1 and Chaya Koren1
Abstract
Late-life repartnering is a phenomenon developing as life-expectancy
increases, creating complex stepfamilies constructed in old age. Adult children
and parents7ell-being could be influenced by adult childrenàexperiences
of one parentàlate-life repartnering after the death of the other parent.
Our aim is to explore how these two life events intertwine in the lives of
adult children heuristically using existential phenomenology. Semistructured
qualitative interviews with 27 adult children were chosen from a larger
study on the meaning of late-life repartnering from an intergenerational
family perspective. Criterion sampling included adult children of a widowed
parent who repartnered at or above the official retirement age in Israel.
Two themes emerged1) loyalty conflict: (a) visible and/or hidden, (b)
hypothetical thoughts and feelings about the deceased parent in the context
of the parentànew partner and (2) comparison between the deceased
parent and parentànew partner. Findings are discussed using the existential
figure?ground concept illustrating the two life events intertwining.
Keywords
bereavement, death and dying, family issues, grief, intergenerational
relationships, stepfamilies, qualitative research method
1University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Corresponding Author:
Chaya Koren, The School of Social Work and The Center for the Study of Society, University
of Haifa, 199 Abba Hushi Boulevard, Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel.
Email: salsterk@gmail.com
1640
Journal of Family Issues 39(6)
Introduction
Late life repartnering and parental death are two life events experienced by
adult children who have lost a parent due to death while the other parent
repartnered after becoming a widow/widower. Hence, the aim of this article
is to explore, from the adult childrenàperspectives, the experience of a parentàlate-life repartnering after the death of the other parent, and the possible
intertwining of these two life events.
Late-Life Repartnering
The literature on late-life repartnering includes several definitions of the phenomenon: beginning the relationship at or above the official retirement age
(Moustgaard & Martikainen, 2009); starting the relationship at age 50 years
(Brown, Bulanda, & Lee, 2012; Brown, Lee, & Bulanda, 2006), or at age 55
years and older (De Jong Gierveld, 2004). Another definition restricts the
phenomenon to partners who had a lifelong marital relationship in which
each had previously raised a family with children and grandchildren (Koren,
2011). In the present article, late-life repartnering excludes the divorced and
refers only to widows and widowers who repartnered at or above the official
retirement age in Israel. Both partners had children and grandchildren from
their lifelong marriages and their repartnering relationship took the form of
remarriage, cohabitation, or living apart together.
Late-life repartnering among persons aged 65 years and older is a relatively new phenomenon worldwide with low prevalence of no more than
10% (Davidson, 2002). It is more accepted in modern societies (De Jong
Gierveld, 2004) and usually occurs within a mid-high socioeconomic status
(Davidson, 2002). As life expectancy increases, the phenomenon is likely to
continue to develop as an option in old age (De Jong Gierveld, 2004).
In Israel, a society culturally located between tradition and modernity
(Lavee & Katz, 2003), the phenomenon has not yet received recognition as a
normative choice in old age (Koren, 2011). This could explain why, no data
on late-life repartnering are available from the Central Bureau of Statistics
(2014).
Repartnering creates a type of stepfamily constructed in old age (Koren &
Lipman-Schiby, 2014). Step-relationships are unexpected (Coleman, Ganong,
& Russell, 2013) at any age and require those involved to adjust to the new
family structure (Baxter et al., 2009). This is especially true in old age, when
repartnering is perceived as having more of a partnership role than a family
structure (Koren, 2011). This might explain why most of the empirical literature on late-life repartnering refers to partners)ssues of widows (Davidson,
Simhi-Meidani and Koren
1641
2002) and widowers (van den Hoonaard, 2012) studied mainly from their
individual (e.g., Davidson, 2002) or dyadic perspectives (e.g., Koren, 2011).
In the few studies referring to familial aspects of late-life repartnering, conflicts were addressed. These included issues concerning inheritance, jealousy,
and anger regarding priority changes, threat to the memory of the deceased
parent (Spalter, 2010), and caregiving expectations (Koren, Simhi, LipmanSchiby & Fogel, 2016) and experiences (Sherman, 2012). However, some
adult children encourage late-life repartnering because of its advantages for
both generations. These include enhancing the parentàself-esteem, social
capital, and sources of support (Spalter, 2010) and reducing the childrenÊworry (Koren & Simhi, 2016) which might have increased with the parentÊwidowhood (Stuifbergen, Van Delden, & Dykstra, 2008). Adult childrenÊexperiences with parents,ate-life repartnering as positive and/or negative
could have significant influence on family dynamics and on quality of life of
parents and children alike (Koren & Simhi, 2016). Therefore, it is important
to examine adult childrenàexperiences with parents,ate-life repartnering,
including the impact of the death of the deceased parent.
Adult Children and Parental Death
Adapting to the death of a parent is a multidimensional personal and familial
process. Parental death affects identity, social interactions, family, spirituality, intimacy and sexuality, work productiveness, and health (Lund, 2001).
Adult children confront their own mortality when a parent dies (Kiel, 2003),
which might lead to reevaluation of their own life course (Black & Santanello,
2011). As with the loss of anyone close (Lund, 2001), initial reactions to
parental death might include anger, sadness, fear, shock, disbelief, relief,
guilt, loneliness, confusion, and depression (Kiel, 2003). Grief might be
accompanied by thoughts about the deceased and events related to the death
(Lund, 2001), perceived simultaneously as expected and unexpected (Black
& Rubinstein, 2013).
Adult childrenàdifficulty in discussing and sharing experiences related to
parental death derives from the merging of past experiences with the parent
and the present situation of the parentàphysical absence, along with focusing on the %re and now/f coping (Black & Rubinstein, 2013). Other findings indicate that children, who report a positive relationship with the parent
and express ongoing loss, might idealize the parental relationship. Sharing
memories and reminiscing about past experiences connected to the deceased
parent is an acceptable means of escape from reality. It brings comfort and
helps ease existential loneliness that accompanies the experience of loss
(Kiel, 2003). For adult children, communication with the deceased parent
1642
Journal of Family Issues 39(6)
(e.g., writing them letters about life events) was found to reduce the trauma
and pain of the unbearable reality of death, providing an escape from the
despair associated with the inevitable finality of life (Ata, 2012). Bereaved
religious persons were found to be less anxious than those who were not religious. Religious affiliation can provide strength and resilience, which contribute to coping with death (Ata, 2012). However, it is unclear whether these
findings are restricted to those who were religious prior to the parentàdeath
or also includes those who became religious or strengthened their belief as a
result of the death. After the death of a parent, adult children lose the opportunity to find answers to hitherto unresolved questions, including identity
aspects related to change of self and worldview. Parental death might serve as
a turning point in their own and their familyàlives (Black & Santanello,
2011). With time, sadness generally decreases, improving the emotional state
of the bereaved adult-child (Kiel, 2003).
Parents create familial norms, beliefs, morals, and attitudes. Parental roles
have symbolic meanings such as father as provider, protector, authority,
friend, and critic (Black & Santanello, 2011). Thus, parental death influences
family dynamics (Black & Rubinstein, 2013), potentially reinforcing these
patterns. Children were found to receive comfort through support from family and friends. Their social ties were strengthened, and life purpose was
focused on involvement in family life (Kiel, 2003).
Heuristic Framework: Existential Phenomenology
Parental death and repartnering of the surviving parent are two separate
occurrences in the adult-childàlife. From an existential phenomenological
perspective, the two might be mutually constitutive (Valle, King, & Halling,
1989); similar to the Gestalt figureòound concept. A figure has an objectcharacter that is spatially cohesive and enclosed, filling a space inside its
border. A ground has a material character that extends behind the figure
(Shapiro & Hamburger, 2007). Based on this conceptualization, we examined
how, if at all, adult children experience late-life repartnering of their surviving parent (as figure) in the context of the deceased parentàdeath (as ground),
and how, if at all, parental death (as figure) is experienced retrospectively in
the context of late-life repartnering (as ground).
A way of interpreting the adult-childàsituation is through the existential
phenomenological concept of the life word (Lebenswelt), which includes the
following four dimensions (van Deurzen, 2010): The physical world (Umwelt)
represents peopleàrelationship with nature. Through this dimension, the
adult children might perceive the deceased parentàphysical absence from
their world as the natural course of life. The social world (Mitwelt) represents
Simhi-Meidani and Koren
1643
being-in-the-world with others. It refers to the adult-childàfeelings toward
the repartnered parent and the new partner, and how repartnering influences
the adult-childàrelationship with them. The personal world (Eigenwelt) is
the inner world not shared by others. This refers to how the adult-child, who
lost a parent and whose surviving parent has repartnered, copes with the existential sense of death (May & Yalom, 1995). It also represents how the adultchild, who cannot control a parentàdeath or repartnering, known as
existential thrownness, uses situated freedom of choice, constrained by life
situations, to cope with such events (Sartre, 1991). The spiritual world
(Uberwelt) represents creating meaning and a sense of belonging to a scheme
of things. It refers to how the adult-child makes sense of the parentàdeath,
the surviving parentàrepartnering, and the essence of family (van Deurzen,
2010). In existential terms, temporality is experienced as relative and subjective (May, 1983). Thus, we ask how it is expressed in the experience of adult
children whose parent repartnered after the other parentàdeath. The four
dimensions intertwine to compose the individualàholistic life-world (van
Deurzen, 2010).
Both parental death (Black & Santanello, 2011) and the subsequent latelife repartnering (De Jong Gierveld & Merz, 2013) are significant life events
for adult children. Therefore, when examining the adult childrenàexperiences, it is necessary to understand the essence of the possible interplay
between these two events.
The research questions are accordingly: (a) How do adult children experience parental death after late-life repartnering of their surviving parent? (2)
How might the death of one parent and late-life repartnering of the surviving
parent intertwine?
Method
Data for this article are drawn from a larger qualitative study on late-life
repartnering from a family intergenerational perspective (ISF No. 1583/11).
Analysis is based on the phenomenological tradition (Smith, Flowers, &
Larkin, 2009), referring to )ved experience/f adult children who, after
parental death, experienced late-life repartnering of their surviving parent.
Sample and Sampling
Criterion sampling for the larger study (Patton, 2002) included older couples
who repartnered after the official retirement age in Israel (men 65+; women
60+). Both partners were previously in a lifelong marriage that included adult
children and grandchildren. The larger study included 37 adult children
1644
Journal of Family Issues 39(6)
whose parents were either widowed or divorced. Criterion sampling of the
subsample for this article included 27 adult children whose parents had
repartnered after widowhood with a partner who was also widowed with children (Table 1).
Demographic information for the 27 adult children was as follows:
Between 37 and 60 years old, all of them had children, most were married,
and two were divorced. All except five were born in Israel and had an academic or professional education. All of them were Jewish and defined themselves as secular, traditional, or religious. The parentàrepartnering had
occurred between 1 and 16 years previously. Time since death of the deceased
parent was between 2.5 and 27 years. Participants were coded in the same
way as in the larger study (e.g., the manàson in Stepfamily3 was coded
Stepfamily3SM).
Recruiting Participants
Participants were recruited via professionals working with older persons
throughout Israel. They were contacted by phone and were provided with
information about the study. After they were found to meet the study criteria
and agreed to participate, the older partners contacted one of their adult children and asked them to participate in the study. Thus, the parents chose the
adult children, who were interviewed at a time and place convenient for them.
Most interviews were conducted at the childàhome, lasted about 1 hour,
were audio-recorded in Hebrew, and transcribed verbatim. To preserve the
original meaning, the quotes chosen for this article were translated from
Hebrew into English by the second author, who is bilingual.
Research Tool and Data Collection
Semistructured face-to-face interviews were conducted with each participant
separately to learn about late-life repartnering from an intergenerational family perspective, from November 2011 until the end of 2012. The interviews
were based on an interview guide (Kvale & Brikmann, 2008) developed for
the adult childrenàgeneration. The opening question was %ll me the story
of your parentàlate-life repartnering.”he interview guide included several content areas. Those relevant for this
article were intergenerational relationships in the family including the relationship with the parent before and after repartnering, and with his or her
partner, attitudes toward the parentàlate-life repartnering in particular, and
to the phenomenon in general. The interview guide did not include specific
questions related to the experience of parental death. However, when the
1645
F1SM
F2DM
F2DW
F3SM
F3DW
F4DM
F4DW
F5DM
F7SM
F7DW
F8SM
F8DW
F9DM
F9SW
F10SM
F10DW
F11DM
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
54
51
48
37
50
47
44
55
51
41
46
47
52
56
50
52
51
Participant Age
Woman
Woman
Man
Woman
Woman
Woman
Woman
Man
Woman
Man
Woman
Woman
Man
Man
Woman
Woman
Man
Gender
1957
1960
1963
1974
1962
1964
1967
1956
1960
1970
1965
1964
1960
1955
1962
1959
1960
Israel
Israel
Israel
Israel
Uruguay
Israel
Israel
Israel
USA
Israel
USA
Israel
Israel
Israel
Israel
Israel
Israel
Year of Country
birth of origin
Table 1. Demographic Information.
M+5
M+3
M+2
M+2
M+4
M+3
M+2
M+3
M+4
M+4
M+8
M+2
2M+
D+3
W+3
M+3
M+3
Marital
status
Secular
Reform religious
Secular
Traditional
Religious
Religious
Secular
Secular
Religious
Secular
Ultra-orthodox
Secular
Secular
Secular
Secular
Secular
Secular
Religiosity
High school diploma
Academic
High school diploma
Academic
Academic
Vocational
Academic
Academic
Academic
Academic
Academic
Academic
High school diploma
Academic
Academic
Academic
Partial academic
Education
83
77
78
69
77
75
71
82
73
67
66
75
73
80
80
74
81
Parentàage
Man
Woman
Man
Woman
Man
Woman
Man
Man
Woman
Man
Woman
Man
Woman
Man
Woman
Man
Man
ParentÊgender
14
14
5.5
5.5
1.5
1.5
3
1.5
1.5
2
2
1
1
16
16
10
15
(continued)
15 years and
few months
15
24
5.6
6.5
3
18
11
2.5
2.5
3
4
3
36
18
26
31
Time since
Length of parent death of the
deceased
repartnering
parent (years)
(years)
1646
F11SW
F12SM
F12DW
F13SM
F13SW
F14SM
F14SW
F15SM
F16SM
F17DM
F19DM
F19DW
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
54
44
49
42
53
60
48
50
48
38.5
47
41
Participant Age
1970
1959
1952
1964
1962
1964
1973
1965
1971
Russia
Israel
Israel
Israel
Israel
Israel
USA
Israel
Israel
Israel
Israel
Israel
Year of Country
birth of origin
Woman 1958
Woman 1968
Woman 1963
Man
Man
Man
Man
Man
Woman
Man
Man
Man
Gender
Table 1. (continued)
M+2
M+3
M+2
+3
M+1
M+2
D+1
M+4
M+2
M+3
M+2
M+2
M+3
Marital
status
Secular
Traditional
Secular
Secular
Secular
Secular
Secular
Secular
Between secular
and traditional
Traditional
Secular
Secular
Religiosity
Vocational
Academic
Academic
High school diploma
Academic
Academic
Academic
High school diploma
Academic
Academic
Academic
Academic
Education
79
86
82
65
89
86
70
83
80
78
70
71
Parentàage
Man
Man
Woman
Woman
Man
Man
Woman
Man
Woman
Man
Woman
Man
ParentÊgender
8
1
1
3
2
7.5
10
15
15
3
3
3
7
3
A little more
than 8 years
24.5
11
27
16
16
27
5
7
6
Time since
Length of parent death of the
deceased
repartnering
parent (years)
(years)
Simhi-Meidani and Koren
1647
interviewees initiated such content during the interviews, the interviewer
probed further. According to the intervieweeàanswers, additional questions
were formulated during the interview regarding content, meaning, contrast,
follow-up, probing, and clarification (Kvale & Brikmann, 2008).
Analysis
In the process of data analysis, we identified adult childrenàexperiences of
parental death and decided to examine them further although this was not the
primary purpose of the larger study. We analyzed the data based on the phenomenological tradition (Smith et al., 2009). In the first step, we read and
reread each interview while listening to the recordings and making initial
notes including descriptive comments of events, behavior, emotions, and
thoughts, linguistic comments such as repetitiveness, and conceptual comments relating to ideas and perceptions of partnership, for example, !rtnership should be for life. his process helped us identify units of meaning, and
the second step included identifying the relationships between them. For
example, we examined the relationship between ¥lationships are eternal¡nd /neliness in old age. his process was conducted in-depth for each
interview separately. In the third step, we identified units of meaning whose
themes went beyond the individual interview and emerged across interviews.
Identifying patterns by comparing units of meaning that emerged in different
interviews assisted the creation of new categorical structures of the findings.
This step was accomplished using a process of abduction (Charmaz, 2006),
which means that, after a possible theme had emerged inductively, we examined it deductively on the rest of the data to derive at a conceptual structure.
When such a conceptual structure was identified through the abduction process with the rest of the data, the theme was confirmed. This process resulted
in two main themes, which are presented in the ©ndings3ection.
Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness was achieved in several ways. All the interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim so that we could check that the emerging
interpretations were based on the original data. Notes and memos, including
thoughts, emotions, and ideas, were documented by each researcher throughout the entire process. As part of the larger study, the research team held
periodic meetings to discuss disagreements regarding coding, units of meaning, and themes. The discussion continued until agreement was reached and
changes were made accordingly (Kvale & Brikmann, 2008).
1648
Journal of Family Issues 39(6)
Ethics
The study received approval from the ethics committee for experiments on
humans of the university research authority (Approval No. 224/11). Each
participant signed a letter of consent after receiving a brief explanation of the
study to ensure voluntary participation. The letter included the option of
withdrawing at any stage and ensured confidentiality by promising to alter
identifying information. Code labels were used to replace participants2eal
names and identifying information was altered. The interviewer was a graduate social work student, who was familiar with creating a rapport and showing empathy without taking on the role of therapist (Kvale & Brikmann,
2008). Finally, we informed participants how to receive emotional help, if
needed, due to disclosure of sensitive issues. This need did not arise at any
stage of the study.
Findings
Late-life repartnering of the surviving parent in the context of parental death
had occurred as a significant life event. Participants raised relevant content
about loss in the context of their parentàdeath, on their own initiative. This
highlighted loss as relevant to the experience of late-life repartnering and we
therefore investigated it further. From the adult childrenàperspective, the
continuous presence of the deceased parent plays a role in shaping the experience of the surviving parentàrepartnering. The first theme relates to loyalty
conflict and is addressed in two subthemes. One refers to visible/hidden loyalty conflict. The other refers to speculations about the deceased parentÊattitudes in light of past acquaintance with the new partner. The second theme
compares the deceased parent with the new partner as shaping attitudes
toward late-life repartnering. Illustration of these themes is based on choosing quotes that supply rich, thick descriptions to represent these experiences
(Smith et al., 2009).
Loyalty Conflict
Visible)dden. This subtheme deals with sanctification of the deceased parent, illustrated by two examples. The womanàson in Stepfamily14 expresses
visible loyalty conflict through his emotional difficulty versus his reasoning:
Mom told me that she met a new partner. It was a bit difficult at first because it
was instead of Dad, [. . .] itàseven and a half years since his death. The
partnership, I think, [began] two years later. If it had started today, it would [also]
Simhi-Meidani and Koren
1649
be difficult for me. )me is not the essence here. n the one hand, [the
partnership] takes someone elseàplace, but on the other hand, my mother also
has a life and she needs to live. You have an inner struggle. For me, it was
important that it would be only after the year of mourning [. . .] itàher life, but
still, it doesn suit me today either. It doesn suit me, of course it doesn suit me.
Mom lived with Dad for maybe 40 years, and someone else came [. . .] itÊdifficult to accept, although you see that itàgood for Mom, it shrinks in
comparison to what I feel [. . .] we [Mom and I] see each other about once a week,
as a rule. I refuse to drive Friday night since Dad [passed away]. I go to the
synagogue and believe more, and everything that happens in life [. . .] is not how
it used to be. When Dad was alive, there was more joy, more getting together;
more fun. These are two different worlds, at least for me. What changed is that
there is no more Dad [. . .] as far as I`concerned, everything changed. I say
my quality of life changed by 80% [. . .] we continue to get together on holidays
but itànot the same joy, it is certainly not the same joy. Thereànot the same
willingness to come because you don have the bonus of saying I`going to my
parents [. . .]. Thatàit, thatàwhat I miss the most. (Stepfamily14SW, age 42,
motheràage 65, widowed 7 years, repartnered 3 years)
The son brings two voices: emotion and reason, each relating differently
to the experience of time concerning the two life events. The voice of reason
refers to his motheràlate-life repartnering as creating a new family structure
representing the present. He understands that his mother deserves to live a
fulfilling life. Therefore, he restricted his objection to repartnering to the first
year of mourning. The voice of emotion refers to his fatheràdeath and represents the past. Emotionally, the mourning is timeless and not restricted to
the first year of his fatheràdeath. Thus, regardless of its timing, repartnering
does not belong. The longest and most significant time is when his parents
were together. The time element is dismissed when compared with the family
history and the experience of the late-life repartnering carries a deep sense of
emotional betrayal. Lack of acceptance of the new situation is expressed by
the sonàrepeated statement: t doesn suit me. he constitutive event of
his fatheràdeath continues to accompany him, leading to an overall turnaround of his life experience, especially losing the meaning of the family. He
describes having fewer reasons to visit, and less joy. Simultaneously, he has
strengthened his religious worldview, influencing the essence and the frequency of family gatherings.
An examination of the two occurrences in the sonàlife, his fatheràdeath
and his motheràrepartnering, reveals a dissonance between his motherÊimproved quality of life and the worsening of his own. This dissonance creates loyalty conflict: accepting the new family structure or preserving the
original one. The inner struggle is presented as having no solution. Beginning
1650
Journal of Family Issues 39(6)
and ending with the emotional voice indicates its significance regarding the
sonàperception of his motheràlate-life repartnering.
The womanàdaughter in Stepfamily2 illustrates hidden loyalty conflict:
The fact that I miss my father very much does not make the presence of my
motherànew partner problematic [. . .]. It took my mother a long time to realize
that [repartnering] does not mean disloyalty toward my father [. . .] when it came
up one day, she asked: / you think he [current partner] will let me be buried
here? . . .] When my father died, it was a great shock. She didn think about
her own burial, she was too youngry age. Who buys a burial plot at that
age? She told me that she heard that due to the lack of burial space, people can
be buried above or below their spouse, so I told her [. . .] ¯w you have a
dilemma, you have two options; either on top of Dad or next to him [her current
partner] . . . we joke about it. If he offers you, thereàa really nice view there.
Perhaps itàworth it. hope she will tell me what she wants. I prefer that she
decides, not me, that she won leave the decision to us. (Stepfamily2DW, age
51, motheràage 77, widowed 24 years, repartnered 14 years)
The daughter raises her motheràburial issue, bringing up the need to
address issues of eternal loyalty. (e fact that I miss my father very much
does not make the presence of my motherànew partner problematic. he
daughteràability to contain both her father and her motherànew partner in
her life subdues her need to cope with the question of loyalty. However, it
seems that it reoccurs with the burial issue. Her mother cannot be buried
beside both her partners. The daughter does not want to be the one to make
such an eternal decision as stated: `hope she will tell me what she wants. I
prefer that she decides, not me, that she won leave the decision to us. he
daughteràattempt to avoid the decision making on the burial issue could
point toward conflict not openly discussed. The daughter is not concerned
what the decision will actually be, but rather who will make it is what matters
to her. As such, the content of the conflict remains hidden. Yet by not being the
one making the decision, she does not necessarily avoid its consequences. The
daughter uses humor known as a technique to reduce conflict and assists dealing with it: å joke about it. If he offers you, thereàa really nice view there.Œoyalty conflict among adult children to late-life repartnering parents was
expressed openly and hidden. The son in the first quote represented it openly
by weighing his motheràneeds against his own. Whereas in the second
quote, loyalty conflict was hidden within the burial issue serving as a way to
avoid having to make a final decision concerning loyalty.
Hypothetical Thoughts and Feelings About the Deceased Parent. This subtheme
presents adult childrenàpreoccupation with hypothetical thoughts and
Simhi-Meidani and Koren
1651
feelings about their deceased parent in the context of the new partner.