Patterns of Psychological Adaptation to Spousal Bereavement in Old Age

Abstract

Background: While the negative effects of spousal bereavement on well-being are well documented in empirical research, the large individual differences in psychological adaptation are still not well understood. Objective: This contribution aims to identify patterns of psychological adaptation to spousal loss in old age and to shed light on the role of intra- and interpersonal resources and contextual factors as discriminant variables among these patterns. Methods: The data stem from a cross-sectional questionnaire study of 402 widowed individuals (228 women, 174 men) aged between 60 and 89 years (mean age 74.41 years), who lost their partner within the last 5 years, and 618 married individuals, who served as controls (312 women, 306 men; mean age 73.82 years). Results: The exploratory latent profile analysis of the well-being outcomes of depressive symptoms, hopelessness, loneliness, life satisfaction and subjective health revealed three different groups in the widowed sample: ‘resilients' (54% of the sample), ‘copers' (39%) and ‘vulnerables' (7%). The most important variables for group allocation were intrapersonal resources - psychological resilience and the Big Five personality traits - but also the quality of the former relationship and how the loss was experienced. Conclusion: Successful adaptation to spousal loss is primarily associated with high scores in psychological resilience and extraversion and low scores in neuroticism. Our results shed light on the variability in psychological adaptation and underline the important role of intrapersonal resources in facing spousal loss in old age.

Latent profiles of physical and psychological outcomes of bereaved parents in China who lost their only child

“…Evidently, few individuals in this group reached the diagnostic criteria for depression, PTSD and PGD, 3%, 2% and 0%, respectively. This finding is consistent with previous research that demonstrates that some bereaved parents could still maintain general physical and psychological health and exhibit resilience in their recovery even after undergoing an extremely traumatic event (Djelantik et al, 2017; Lenferink et al, 2017; Spahni et al, 2015; Zhou et al, 2018). …”

“…Additionally, very limited research examined whether subgroups can be distinguished in terms of both negative and positive psychological outcomes among bereaved people (Zhou, Yu, Tang, Wang, & Killikelly, 2018). Moreover, subjective physical health, which is often thought to reflect psychological adaption, has rarely been examined among bereaved people (Spahni, Morselli, Perrig-Chiello, & Bennett, 2015). The identification of heterogenous subgroups on the basis of physical, negative and positive psychological health outcomes are of scientific and clinical relevance.…”

Resilience amongst Older Colombians Living in Poverty: an Ecological Approach

“…This contrasts with traditional deficit models that focus on psychopathology and how people are unable to cope with adversity. Much work has focused on children, or adults in Western, industrialised countries (Bennett 2010; Rutter 1999; Spahni et al 2015). Much less has focused on resilience amongst older adults or in the developing world (Bennett 2015 [for a review]; Donnellan et al 2014; Eggerman and Panter-Brick 2010; Ong and Bergeman 2004).…”

Social Dimensions of Personal Growth following Widowhood: A Three-Wave Study

“…Accounts of relatively stable trajectories in light of bereavement were also documented for other psychological constructs such as well-being for the majority of individuals [15], which mirrors our findings. Because most individuals adjust well to their new role as widow(er) [14], particularly during a time in life where this transition is rather normative and supporting networks may be larger compared to those who experience widowhood off-time, the potential for PG may be limited [6]. …”