This study examined the degree to which an individual's propensity to experience emotional distress and restraint are predictive of grief intensity in a sample of older widow(er)s (N = 51). Characteristic distress was found to be a significant predictor of present grief intensity, whereas repressive defensive-ness was found to predict past grief, as recalled from the time of loss. Results are discussed in light of known risk factors for complicated bereavement and intervention concerns.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ClaytonP. J., Bereavement Stress and Depression, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 51, pp. 34–38, 1990.
2.
StroebeW. and StroebeM. S., Bereavement and Health: The Psychological and Physical Consequences of Partner Loss, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987.
3.
RaphaelB., The Anatomy of Bereavement, Basic Books, New York, 1983.
4.
BowlingA., Who Dies After Widow(er)hood? A Discriminant Analysis, OMEGA, 19, pp. 135–153, 1988.
5.
WindholzM. J.MarmarC. R., and HorowitzM. J., Review of Research on Conjugal Bereavement: Impact on Health and Efficacy of Intervention, Comprehensive Psychiatry, 26, pp. 433–447, 1985.
6.
ZisookS.SchuchterS. R., and LyonsL. E., Adjustment to Widowhood, in Biopsychological Aspects of Bereavement, ZisookS. (ed.), American Psychiatric Press, Washington, D.C., pp. 51–74, 1987.
7.
LundD. A.CasertaM. S., and DimondM. F., Gender Differences through Two Years of Bereavement among the Elderly, The Gerontologist, 26, pp. 314–320, 1986.
8.
ThompsonL. W.Gallagher-ThompsonD.FuttermanA.GilewskiM. J., and PetersonJ., The Effects of Late-Life Spousal Bereavement Over a Thirty-Month Interval, Psychology and Aging, 6, pp. 434–441, 1991.
9.
FaschingbauerT. R.ZisookS., and DeVaulR., The Texas Revised Inventory of Grief, in Biopsychosocial Aspects of Bereavement, ZisookS. (ed.), American Psychiatric Press, Washington, D.C., pp. 111–124, 1987.
10.
FaschingbauerT. R., Texas Revised Inventory of Grief Manual, Honeycomb Publishing, Houston, 1981.
11.
CasertaM. S. and LundD. A., Bereavement Stress and Coping among Older Adults: Expectations versus Actual Experience, OMEGA, 25, pp. 33–45, 1992.
12.
McCraeR. R. and CostaP. T., Psychological Resilience among Widowed Men and Women: A 10-Year Follow Up of a National Sample, Journal of Social Issues, 44, pp. 129–142, 1988.
13.
HerthK., Relationship of Hope, Coping Styles, Concurrent Losses, and Setting to Grief Reactions in the Elderly Widow(er), Research in Nursing and Health, 13, pp. 109–117, 1990.
14.
DimondM.LundD. A., and CasertaM. S., The Role of Social Support in the First Two Years of Bereavement in an Elderly Sample, The Gerontologist, 27, pp. 599–604, 1987.
15.
JohnsonR. J.LundD. A., and DimondM. F., Stress, Self-Esteem and Coping during Bereavement among the Elderly, Social Psychology Quarterly, 49, pp. 273–279, 1986.
16.
SandersC. M., Risk Factors in Bereavement Outcome, Journal of Social Issues, 44, pp. 97–111, 1988.
17.
StroebeM., Coping with Bereavement: A Review of the Grief Work Hypothesis, OMEGA, 26, pp. 19–42, 1993.
18.
VachonM. L. S.SheldonA. R.LanceeW. J.LyallW. A. L.RogersJ., and FreemanS. J. J., Correlates of Enduring Distress Patterns following Bereavement: Social Network, Life Situation, and Personality, Psychological Medicine, 12, pp. 783–788, 1982.
19.
StroebeW.StrobeM. S., and DomittnerG., Individual and Situational Differences in Recovery from Bereavement: A Risk Group Identified, Journal of Social Issues, 44, pp. 143–158, 1988.
20.
LazarusR. S. and DelongisA., Psychological Stress and Coping in Aging, American Psychologist, 38, pp. 245–254, 1983.
21.
DeAngelisT., Illness Linked with Repressive Style of Coping, APA Monitor, December Issue, pp. 14–15, 1992.
22.
RaphaelB. and MiddletonW., What is Pathologic Grief?, Psychiatric Annals, 20, pp. 304–307, 1990.
23.
LevyL. H.DerbyJ. F., and MartinkowskiK. S., The Question of Who Participates in Bereavement Research and the Bereavement Risk Index, OMEGA, 25, pp. 225–238, 1992.
24.
WeinbergerD. A., The Construct Validity of the Repressive Coping Style, in Repression and Dissociation: Implications for Personality Theory, Psychopathology, and Health, SingerJ. L. (ed.), The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 337–386, 1990.
25.
WeinbergerD. A., Social-Emotional Adjustment in Children and Adults: Psychometric Properties of the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory, unpublished manuscript, Case Western Reserve University, Department of Psychology, Cleveland, Ohio, 1989.
26.
GallagherD. E.BreckenridgeJ. N.ThompsonL. W., and PetersonJ. A., Effects of Bereavement on Indicators of Mental Health in Elderly Widows and Widowers, Journal of Gerontology, 38, pp. 656–671, 1983.
27.
GabrielR. M. and KirschlingJ. M., Assessing Grief among the Bereaved Elderly: A Review of Existing Measures, Bereavement Care: Hospice and Community Based Services, 1, pp. 29–54, 1989.
28.
WeinbergerD. A. and DeangeloL. L., Like Father, Like Son? Parents' Personality Styles and Adolescents' Subsequent Adjustment, unpublished manuscript, Case Western Reserve University, Department of Psychology, Cleveland, Ohio, 1993.
29.
CostaP. T. and McCraeR. R., Personality Stability, in The Adult Years: Continuity and Change, StorandtM. and VandenbosG. R. (eds.), American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., pp. 45–77, 1989.
30.
CostaP. T.McCraeR. R.ZondermanA. B.BarbanoH. E.LebowitzB., and LarsonD. M., Cross-Sectional Studies of Personality in a National Sample: Stability in Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness, Psychology and Aging, 1, pp. 144–149, 1986.
31.
WeizmannS. G. and KammP., About Mourning: Support and Guidance for the Bereaved, Human Services Press, New York, pp. 42–63, 1985.
32.
StroebeM. S. and StroebeW., Who Suffers More? Differences in Health Risks of the Widowed, Psychological Bulletin, 93, pp. 279–301, 1983.
