Trajectories of resilience among widows: a latent transition model
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVES: In 2015 we identified three profiles of adaptation following spousal bereavement: Vulnerables; Copers and Resilients (Spahni, Morselli, Perrig-Chiello, & Bennett, 2015). However, adaptation to spousal bereavement is a dynamic process. Thus, we examine the trajectories of the same participants longitudinally over two years. We identify the stability and change in profiles of adaptation to widowhood; probability of stability and change; factors that influence trajectories in profile membership. METHODS: Data stem from a longitudinal questionnaire study of 309 older widowed people. The questionnaire included five measures of well-being, serving as the dependent variables of this analysis, and measures of personal resources and contextual factors, including social support, marital happiness, psychological resilience, and demography. Data was analysed using latent transition analysis of the variables loneliness, hopelessness, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and subjective health. RESULTS: The analysis replicated the three Wave 1 profiles as the best theoretical fit: Vulnerables; Copers; and Resilients. Stability was most common, but some participants moved to more or less adaptive profiles, the former being more frequent. Younger age, longer time since widowhood, new life perspectives facilitated adaptation. Those transitioning to less adaptive profiles were more likely to be women and older. DISCUSSION: The path to adaptation was not linear. Many of the explanatory variables contributed both to positive and negative adaptation. These include previous caring experience, education, psychological resilience and personal strength. This suggests these explanatory variables do not act in isolation but are likely to interact with each other, and with other, yet not measured, factors.
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Studies that did focus on resilience during the 2020 pandemic focused on trait resilience.
“Those that do focused on trait resilience (see [10] for a discussion).”
From Factors impacting resilience as a result of exposure to COVID-19: The ecological resilience model (2021) · cites this paper as [10]
The discussion of resilience in widowed people identifies trait resilience as one approach, alongside stability in wellbeing and adaptation after bereavement (Abstract > Discussion; page unavailable). It does not discuss studies during the 2020 pandemic or establish that those studies focused on trait resilience; searches for pandemic and COVID-19 yielded no relevant passage. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe ecological model of resilience has been used in contexts such as older people living in poverty in Colombia, widowhood, chronic health conditions, end-of-life care, and dementia care.
“Windle and Bennett [21] developed the ecological model of resilience (Fig 1) which was originally developed in relationship to caregiving but has subsequently been used in other contexts, for example amongst older people living in poverty in Colombia [17], widowhood [10], chronic health conditions [22], and caregiving in relationship to end of life care [23] and dementia care [15].”
From Factors impacting resilience as a result of exposure to COVID-19: The ecological resilience model (2021) · cites this paper as [10]
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- Authors
- Bennett, K. M., Morselli, D., Spahni, S., & Perrig-Chiello, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- University of Lausanne (CH)
- University of Bern (CH)
- Institute of Psychology, University of Berne, Switzerland
- Corresponding author
- Bennett, Kate Mary
- Venue
- Aging & Mental Health
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2019-08-09
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 2014-2021
- ISSN
- 1360-7863 (ISSN-L)
- 1364-6915
- PMC
- PMC8842714
- OpenAlex
- W2968802253
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 3.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Aging & Mental Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- SERVAL (Université de Lausanne) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- IRIS (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Bern Open Repository and Information System (University of Bern) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Open Access CRIS of the University of Bern
- Funders
- Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES – Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives
- Swiss National Science Foundation (125770)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Resilience and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- widowhood, death of a spouse, psychological resilience, older adults, loneliness, hopelessness, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, self-rated health, social support, marital satisfaction, worldview
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Bereavement, Female, Humans, Loneliness, Widowhood, Resilience, Psychological
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