In Good Times and in Bad: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Bereavement on Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction in Couples

Abstract

This study examines the impact of bereavement on self-esteem and life satisfaction in both partners of a romantic couple. We investigate the moderating effects of the type of the lost relationship (close family, close friends/others) and romantic relationship characteristics (daily social support, responsiveness-closeness, self-disclosure). We examined 1,238 individuals in 619 male-female couples from the ages 18 to 81 (M[SD] = 31.97 years [13.26]). Both partners completed questionnaires at two assessments that were 20 months (SD = 2.02 months) apart, in between which n = 216 individuals were bereaved. Actor-partner interdependence models showed that bereavement did not predict later self-esteem or life satisfaction in either of the partners. The relationship characteristics and the type of lost relationship did not moderate the effects. The subjective meaning and distress of the loss predicted later self-esteem and life satisfaction. The self-esteem increase was larger for bereaved with a positive/neutral than for bereaved with a negative meaning. We found a partner effect on self-esteem for the group of bereaved who reported a negative meaning. The findings demonstrate that bereavement can impact romantic partners' self-esteem and that the subjective experience of bereavement helps understand individual differences in the effect of bereavement on self-esteem and life satisfaction.

Self‐esteem development and life events: A review and integrative process framework

“…Some studies reported decreases in self‐esteem when losing close family members (e.g., Montpetit et al, 2010), other studies reported no self‐esteem change (Murrell et al., 1991; Tetzner et al., 2016). A recent study found no overall self‐esteem change in response to bereavement (i.e., losing a close other), but a self‐esteem increase in people who reported a positive/neutral meaning of the bereavement (Reitz, Weidmann, et al., 2022). Break‐ups (Luciano & Orth, 2017) and divorce (Bleidorn et al., 2021) were found to predict declines in self‐esteem.…”

“…Given their importance for self‐esteem development, the role of social relationships should be studied more (Reitz et al., 2014). For example, romantic partners' shared environment was shown to influence self‐esteem (Orth et al, 2018) and self‐esteem decreased in response to a negative bereavement experience by a partner (Reitz, Weidmann, et al., 2022).…”

“…The degree of similarity in environmental antecedents provides insights into whether constructs are influenced by the same, broadly acting mechanism or by unique, narrowly acting mechanisms (Soto & John, 2012). A few studies have identified unique and shared trajectories and antecedents of self‐esteem and narcissism (Lawson & Robins, 2021) and self‐esteem and life satisfaction (Reitz, Luhmann, et al, 2022; Reitz, Weidmann, et al, 2022). The latter studies suggest that reflective processes might uniquely underlie self‐esteem change during negative life events.…”

What does a personality science approach to post-traumatic growth reveal?

“…Although some of the papers presented in this section had similar aims to those discussed under the limited evidence for personality growth heading, these papers also made significant contributions insofar as their study of the impact of adversity was situated within the relational, social, or cultural context in which the adversity occurred. For example, Reitz et al (2022) used a 2-wave prospective longitudinal design to examine the impact of bereavement of a close friend or family member on the self-esteem and life satisfaction of both individuals in a romantic partnership. Consistent with the results from the other papers discussed in the previous section, Reitz and colleagues did not find evidence of average personality growth, insofar as bereavement did not predict self-esteem or life-satisfaction at wave 2 in either of the romantic partners.…”