Measuring meaning: searching for and making sense of spousal loss in late-life.
Despite much recent theorizing, evidence regarding the temporal relationship of sense-making to adjustment following bereavement remains relatively sparse. This study examined the role of searching for and making sense of loss in late-life spousal bereavement, using prospective, longitudinal data from the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) project (N = 250). Searching at 6 and 18 months post-loss predicted both contemporaneous and subsequent grief. Sense-making was not related to grief for this sample. In contrast, sense-making at 6 months and 18 months predicted positive affect at 48 months, although searching had no prospective effect on this outcome. Searching at 6 months predicted depression at 18 months. Results are interpreted in terms of meaning-oriented theories of bereavement and processes promoting both adaptive and maladaptive outcomes.
Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 318152, USA. racolemn@memphis.edu
Rachel A
RA
Coleman
Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 318152, USA.
Robert A
RA
Neimeyer
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012917:Social Adjustment; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D017805:Widowhood / Q000523:psychology*