title: Psychological adaptation to spousal bereavement in old age: The role of trait resilience, marital history, and context of death.
abstract: 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. Four hundred eighty 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.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Bern , Bern , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Spahni
authors.affiliation: b Department of Psychological Sciences and School of Psychology , University of Liverpool , Liverpool , UK.
authors.forename: Kate M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Bern , Bern , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pasqualina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perrig-Chiello
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001601:Bereavement; D003643:Death; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012737:Sex Factors; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology; D017805:Widowhood / Q000523:psychology*