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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Psychological adjustment to sudden and anticipated spousal loss among older widowed persons | | Author(s) | Deborah Carr, James S House, Camille Wortman |
| Journal title | Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol 56B, no 4, July 2001 |
| Pages | pp S237-S248 |
| Keywords | Bereavement ; Widows ; Widowers ; Adjustment ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | The effects of forewarning on multiple indicators of mental health and grief were examined in a sample of 210 widowed people participating in the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) study in Detroit. They were interviewed first in 1987-88, and re-interviewed 6, 18 and 48 months after losing their spouse. Forewarning did not affect depression, anger, shock, or overall grief 6 or 18 months after the loss. Prolonged forewarning was associated with elevated anxiety both 6 and 18 months after the death. Sudden death of a spouse elevated survivors' intrusive thoughts at the 6-month follow-up study. Sudden death was associated with slightly higher levels of yearning in women but significantly lower levels of yearning in men both 6 and 18 months after the loss. The findings call into question the widespread belief that grief is more severe if death is sudden, and suggests a more complex relationship between bereavement and circumstances of a spousal death. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-010814211 A |
| Classmark | DW: SP: SPA: DR: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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