TY - JOUR
T1 - Marital quality and psychological adjustment to widowhood among older adults
T2 - A longitudinal analysis
AU - Carr, Deborah
AU - House, James S.
AU - Kessler, Ronald C.
AU - Nesse, Randolph M.
AU - Sonnega, John
AU - Wortman, Camille
PY - 2000/7
Y1 - 2000/7
N2 - Objectives. This study examined whether psychological adjustment to widowhood is affected by three aspects of marital quality - warmth, conflict, and instrumental dependence - assessed prior to the loss. Methods. The Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) is a prospective study of a two-stage area probability sample of 1,532 married individuals aged 65 and older. The CLOC includes baseline data on marital quality and mental health and data on grief, anxiety, and depression collected 6, 18, and 48 months after spousal loss. Results. Widowhood was associated with elevated anxiety among those who were highly dependent on their spouses and lower levels of anxiety among those who were not dependent on their spouses. Levels of yearning were lower for widowed persons whose relationships were conflicted at baseline and higher for those reporting high levels of marital closeness and dependence on their spouses. Women who relied on their husbands for instrumental support had significantly higher levels of yearning than men who depended on their wives. Discussion. The findings contradict the widespread belief that grief is more severe if the marriage was conflicted and suggest a more complex relationship between bereavement and characteristics of the marriage.
AB - Objectives. This study examined whether psychological adjustment to widowhood is affected by three aspects of marital quality - warmth, conflict, and instrumental dependence - assessed prior to the loss. Methods. The Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) is a prospective study of a two-stage area probability sample of 1,532 married individuals aged 65 and older. The CLOC includes baseline data on marital quality and mental health and data on grief, anxiety, and depression collected 6, 18, and 48 months after spousal loss. Results. Widowhood was associated with elevated anxiety among those who were highly dependent on their spouses and lower levels of anxiety among those who were not dependent on their spouses. Levels of yearning were lower for widowed persons whose relationships were conflicted at baseline and higher for those reporting high levels of marital closeness and dependence on their spouses. Women who relied on their husbands for instrumental support had significantly higher levels of yearning than men who depended on their wives. Discussion. The findings contradict the widespread belief that grief is more severe if the marriage was conflicted and suggest a more complex relationship between bereavement and characteristics of the marriage.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0033932114&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0033932114&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/geronb/55.4.S197
DO - 10.1093/geronb/55.4.S197
M3 - Article
C2 - 11584882
AN - SCOPUS:0033932114
SN - 1079-5014
VL - 55
SP - S197-S207
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
IS - 4
ER -