The Influence of Meaning-making after Spousal Loss on Trajectories of Psychological Distress

Abstract

Stress process researchers note that people actively seek to alter the impact of stressful life events through various coping mechanisms. Spousal bereavement sometimes requires individuals to revise their assumptions about the world and themselves. Meaning-making, comprising the dual processes of searching for and finding meaning, may be employed to alleviate symptoms of grief following spousal bereavement. The current study uses multilevel modeling to examine the influence of searching for and finding meaning on individual growth trajectories of psychological distress using data from 764 widows and widowers from a nationally representative longitudinal study. Results indicate that searching for meaning after spousal loss may be a double-edged sword: it is beneficial when meaning is found, but harmful when meaning remains elusive. Widows and widowers who searched for but did not find meaning exhibited the highest initial levels of psychological distress, but they also had slightly faster declines in psychological distress, becoming more similar to other meaning-making groups over time.

Marital Transitions, Change in Depressive Symptomology, and Quality of Social Relationships in Midlife and Older U.S. Adults: An Analysis of the Health and Retirement Study

“…It is possible that immediately following the death of a spouse, the surviving partner best copes by relying on their own memories to find comfort, possibly minimizing the immediate impact of social relationships on one’s mental health. Further, this might be more apparent among widowed older adults due to having been married longer, hence having more shared memories (Brown et al, 2004; Carr, 2020; Young & Foy, 2013). In addition, compared to young or middle-aged widowed individuals, older adults are more likely to have smaller social circles, requiring reliance on personal coping through grief (Szabo et al, 2020; Vos et al, 2020).…”

Preloss Spirituality Predicts Postloss Distress of Bereaved Cancer Caregivers

“…Other studies that examined different aspects of spirituality have found that meaning is an important aspect of effective management of general psychological distress [39] in both bereaved caregivers [39][40][41] and cancer survivors [31,33]. In one prospective study, mothers who reported finding meaning in life through the caregiving experience reported lower distress as they navigated bereavement, further indicating that cognitively processing the impact of a stressful experience can be a protective factor against future distress [42].…”

The relationship between meaning discrepancy and emotional distress among patients with cancer: the role of posttraumatic growth in a collectivistic culture

“…Meaning making does not necessarily lead to meaning made (e.g. Davis et al 2000;Young & Foy 2013). In particular, few studies have found an association between PTG and the core belief system (Park & Fenster 2004).…”

“…Davis et al . ; Young & Foy ). In particular, few studies have found an association between PTG and the core belief system (Park & Fenster ).…”