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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| A co-twin control study of response to widowhood | | Author(s) | Paul Lichtenstein, Margaret Gatz, Nancy L Pedersen |
| Journal title | The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol 51B, no 5, September 1996 |
| Pages | pp P279-P289 |
| Keywords | Bereavement ; Twins ; Widows ; Loneliness ; Depression ; Life satisfaction ; Social surveys ; Sweden. |
| Annotation | The effects of long-term and recent spouse bereavement were investigated in a sample of 2,104 Swedish twins followed between 1984 and 1993. In co-twin control analyses, the bereaved twin experienced significantly more depressive symptoms, more loneliness, and less life satisfaction than the married co-twin. This association existed for recently widowed (less than three years) of both sexes. Long-term widowed (for more than 5 years) reported more loneliness than married individuals, and for women there was also a difference in life satisfaction. There were no effects of bereavement on perceived physical health. Evidence was found for an anticipation effect of widowhood indicated by elevated depressive symptoms prior to the spouse's death. Longitudinal analysis showed that it is more stressful to be bereaved when young-old than old-old, but no age differences were revealed in adaptation. |
| Accession Number | CPA-970722007 A |
| Classmark | DW: SVR: SP: DV: ENR: F:5HH: 3F: 76P |
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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