Prospective predictors of positive emotions following spousal loss.

Ong, Anthony D.; Fuller‐Rowell, Thomas E.; Bonanno, George A.

doi:10.1037/a0018870

Cited by 64 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…lower life-satisfaction and more depressive symptoms in women, were not specific to the bereaved group. The results also confirm the positive effect of trait resilience on psychological adaptation to bereavement (Ong et al, 2010;Rossi, Bisconti, & Bergeman, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Psychological adaptation to spousal bereavement in old age: The role of trait resilience, marital history, and context of death

2016

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This research examined the effect of marital status and gender on various indicators of psychological adaptation, namely depressive symptoms, loneliness and life satisfaction. It further explores the role of trait resilience, marital history, and context of death for predicting these outcomes in bereaved individuals. 480 widowed individuals aged between 60 and 89 were compared with 759 married peers. Main effects were found for marital status and gender for all indicators. The regression analyses illustrate the multifaceted structure of psychological adaptation. Trait resilience is a key factor in adapting to spousal bereavement, whereas marital history and the context are secondary.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Psychological adaptation to spousal bereavement in old age: The role of trait resilience, marital history, and context of death

2016

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“…Along the way, distinctions between resilience as recovery versus resilience as thriving gained attention (Carver, 1998; Epel, McEwen, & Ickovics, 1998). Resources thought to facilitate resilience were delineated and found to include positive emotions (Lyubormirsky & Della Porta, 2010; Ong, Fuller-Rowell, & Bonanno, 2010), personal intelligence (Mayer & Faber, 2010), self-complexity (Rafaeli & Hiller, 2010), religion and faith (Pargament & Cummings, 2010), and social support (Helgeson & Lopez, 2010). Such qualities paralleled the protective resources identified in the early studies of resilient children, such as high IQ, social support, personality characteristics, family cohesion and warmth, and positive self-concepts.…”

Section: Varieties Of Resiliencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ong et al (2010) compared a sample of bereaved individuals who lost a spouse between Wave I and II of MIDUS to a demographically matched comparison group of continuously married individuals. Spousal loss was linked with decreasing positive emotions over time, but the effect was moderated by positive reappraisal.…”

Section: Empirical Examples Of Resilience and Their Relevance For Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-realisation and meaning making in the face of adversity: a eudaimonic approach to human resilience

Ryff

2014

Journal of Psychology in Africa

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This article considers a eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being built on the integration of developmental, existential and humanistic formulations as well as distant writings of Aristotle. Eudaimonia emphasizes meaning-making, self realization and growth, quality connections to others, self-knowledge, managing life, and marching to one's own drummer. These qualities may be of particular importance in the confrontation with significant life challenges. Prior formulations of resilience are reviewed to underscore the unique features of a eudaimonic approach. Empirical findings on meaning making and self realization are then reviewed to document the capacity of some to maintain high well-being in the face of socioeconomic inequality, the challenges of aging, and in dealing with specific challenges (child abuse, cancer, loss of spouse). Moreover, those who sustain or deepen their well-being as they deal with adversity, show better health profiles, thereby underscoring broader benefits of eudaimonia. How meaning is made and personal capacities realized in the confrontation with challenge is revealed by narrative accounts. Thus, the latter half of the article illustrates human resilience in action via the personal stories of three individuals (Mark Mathabane, Ben Mattlin, Victor Frankl) who endured unimaginable hardship, but prevailed and grew in the face of it. The essential roles of strong social ties and the capacity to derive meaning and realize personal growth in grappling with adversity are unmistakable in all three cases.

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“…It is characterized by involvement with people, influence over outcomes and learning from experience [18]. There is empirical evidence indicating that resilience is associated with resistance to and recovery from loss-related stress [21]. Resilient bereaved individuals have been found to show more positive emotions after loss [5] and to have a greater affective complexity, meaning that they are able to experience both positive and negative effects even during periods of stress, when affective space is limited [13].…”

Section: Differences In Psychological Adaptation and Their Determinantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Psychological Adaptation to Spousal Bereavement in Old Age

et al. 2015

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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.

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Prospective predictors of positive emotions following spousal loss.

Cited by 64 publications

References 75 publications

Psychological adaptation to spousal bereavement in old age: The role of trait resilience, marital history, and context of death

Psychological adaptation to spousal bereavement in old age: The role of trait resilience, marital history, and context of death

Self-realisation and meaning making in the face of adversity: a eudaimonic approach to human resilience

Patterns of Psychological Adaptation to Spousal Bereavement in Old Age

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