Longitudinal study of psychological adaptation, finding meaning and personal growth among conjugally bereaved older adults

The aims of the study were to identify the longitudinal patterns of psychological adaptation and development of personal growth among conjugally bereaved older adults and to understand the mechanisms of psychological adaptation and personal growth by testing an exploratory model. Particular interests were identifying the direct effect of worldview of acceptance of death on anger and on the sense of personal strength over time, and examining the effects of religiosity, social support, and caregiving strain in predicting anger and the sense of personal strength directly, as well as indirectly, through the mediating variable of finding meaning in the death. Latent growth curve analyses of Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) data with 101 bereaved older adults identified that the average sample of conjugally bereaved older adults experienced a low level of anger at 6 months and a slight decrease over a 4-year period following spousal death and a moderate level of the sense of personal strength at 6 months with a slight increase over a 4-year period. There were significant individual differences in the levels of anger and the sense of personal strength at 6 months post-spousal death. The coping process of finding meaning was a crucial factor in predicting inter-individual differences in psychological adaptation and in personal growth at 6 months post-spousal death and in mediating between social support and anger as well as between social support and the sense of personal strength. Worldview of acceptance of death was a significant direct predictor for a lower level of anger at 6 months following spousal death, and religiosity was predictive of a higher level of sense of personal strength at 6 months. The study highlighted resilience and growth among conjugally bereaved older people and described human ability to turn suffering into inner achievement through understanding of the 'why' of their sufferings. Nurses can support bereaved older adults to attain higher psychological functioning and to develop personal growth by facilitating finding meaning in the loss with proper social support in the therapeutic relationship, providing preventive care for those who possess the worldview of not accepting death, and incorporating religiosity in bereavement care. View Less