ERIC Number: EJ1010130
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0748-1187
EISSN: N/A
Difficulties Accepting the Loss of a Spouse: A Precursor for Intensified Grieving among Widowed Older Adults
Holland, Jason M.; Futterman, Andrew; Thompson, Larry W.; Moran, Christine; Gallagher-Thompson, Dolores
Death Studies, v37 n2 p126-144 2013
Previous research has identified three distinct factors that make up the Texas Revised Inventory of Grief-Present (TRIG-Present) scale, which tap into grief-related thoughts, emotional response, and nonacceptance regarding a loss. In the present study, the authors sought to identify which of these core grief experiences in the early aftermath of loss are predictive of subsequent intensified grieving. Information was collected from 169 conjugally bereaved older adults at 2- and 12-months following the loss of their spouse. Using a cross-lagged panel design, early experiences of nonacceptance were found to significantly predict more intense grief experiences later on; whereas grief-related thoughts and emotional response were not strongly related to grief at 12-months postloss, after accounting for synchronous (cross-sectional) and autoregressive (stability in the same factor over time) associations. These findings suggest that practitioners working with bereaved clients should pay close attention to early expressions of nonacceptance. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Spouses, Grief, Coping, Older Adults, Widowed, Predictor Variables, Emotional Response, Psychological Patterns
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A