Long-Term Adaptation by the Elderly to Bereavement

Abstract

This Is a pilot study on adaptation to widowhood of people over the age of 60. The subjects are part of a panel of 256 volunteers over age 60 already participating in a longitudinal study of aging and examined at 2-year intervals. Their mean age at widowhood was 74.8 years for the men, and 73.1 years for the women. They were ambulatory and not institutionalized. Measures used were Havighurst activities and attitude scales, psychiatric interviews, and physical examinations. The subjects, 27 females and 14 males, were married at the time of initial evaluation and lived with the spouse until widowhood. The mean time interval between bereavement and the following evaluation was 21 mo. The mean lapse of time between the before and after evaluation was 36 mo. The study suggested that the elderly adapt to the death of a spouse in a fashion characterized by (I) emotional stability, (2) stable social network, (3) few life changes, and (4) only time-related health deterioration.

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