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Correlates of enduring distress patterns following bereavement: social network, life situation and personality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

M. L. S. Vachon ,
A. R. Sheldon ,
W. J. Lancee ,
W. A. L. Lyall ,
J. Rogers  and
S. J. J. Freeman
M. L. S. Vachon*
Affiliation:
Social and Community Psychiatry Section, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
A. R. Sheldon
Affiliation:
Social and Community Psychiatry Section, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
W. J. Lancee
Affiliation:
Social and Community Psychiatry Section, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
W. A. L. Lyall
Affiliation:
Social and Community Psychiatry Section, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
J. Rogers
Affiliation:
Social and Community Psychiatry Section, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
S. J. J. Freeman
Affiliation:
Social and Community Psychiatry Section, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr M. L. S. Vachon, Social and Community Psychiatry Section, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T I R8, Canada
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Synopsis

In a 2-year study of conjugal bereavement, 26 of 99 women remained highly distressed throughout the course of the study. Of the remaining 73 women, 30 never gave evidence of ‘high distress’. Deficits in social support, health and financial problems correlate with enduring ‘high distress’. Personality traits consonant with a socially acceptable and expected ‘widow role’ were found to differentiate the women with enduring ‘low distress’.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , November 1982 , pp. 783 - 788
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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