Attachment, Loss of Spouse, and Grief in Elderly Adults

Abstract

Contrary to much of the literature that claims elderly persons accept and, thus, adjust better to bereavement, personal interviews with eighty-one women between the ages of twenty-six and eighty-two, widowed one to three years, revealed they do not tolerate or adapt to bereavement more successfully than younger women. A standardized, self-report scale, the Texas Inventory of Grief, found that older women showed more intense grief at the time of the interview than younger women. They also reported more feelings of anxiety and depression. It is possible that loss in later years is not so easily accepted, and that there is a more lasting sadness than generally assumed. The theoretical framework of attachment was used for the study. Perceiving the desire for attachment to be life-long, adult relationships such as marriage are apt to be cherished indefinitely. The loss of this affectional bond may never feel timely or readily acceptable to the survivor. The study suggests that society give more attention to the distress and loneliness that bereavement brings to an elderly spouse.

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