Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T00:22:53.316Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A prospective study of widowhood and changes in symptoms of depression in a community sample of the elderly

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

C. F. Mendes De Leon ,
S. V. Kasl  and
S. Jacobs
C. F. Mendes De Leon*
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
S. V. Kasl
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
S. Jacobs
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Carlos F. Mendes de Leon, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, 60 College Street, PO Box 208034, New Haven, CT 06520–8034, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

This survey examines changes in depressive symptomatology (CES-D) during bereavement in 1046 elderly subjects, of whom 139 became widowed during follow-up. Depression scores increased during the first year of bereavement, but generally returned to pre-widowhood levels thereafter. However, depression scores remained elevated among young-old widows (65–74year-olds) well after the first year of widowhood. Using cut-off scores, rates of high depressive symptoms remained somewhat elevated over baseline levels. Increases in depression scores during bereavement were not explained by socio-economic variables, health habits and health status. It is concluded that particularly young-old widows are at risk of developing chronic depressive symptomatology during bereavement that may warrant clinical attention.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , August 1994 , pp. 613 - 624
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Avis, N. E., Brambilla, D. J., Vass, K. & McKinlay, J. B. (1991). The effect of widowhood on health: a prospective analysis from the Massachusetts Women's Health Study. Social Science and Medicine 33. 1063–1070.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ball, J. F. (1977). Widow's grief: the impact of age and mode of death. Omega 7, 307–333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berkman, L. F., Berkman, C. S., Kasl, S. V., Freeman, D. H., Leo, L., Ostfeld, A. M., Coroni-Huntley, J. & Brody, J. A. (1986). Depressive symptoms in relation to physical health and functioning in the elderly. American Journal of Epidemiology 124, 372–388.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bornstein, P. E., Clayton, P. J., Halikas, J. A., Maurice, W. L. & Robins, E. (1973). The depression of widowhood after thirteen months. British Journal of Psychiatry 122, 561–566.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bruce, M. L., Kim, K., Leaf, P. J. & Jacobs, S. C. (1990). Depressive episodes and dysphoria resulting from conjugal bereavement in a prospective community sample. American Journal of Psychiatry 147, 608–611.Google Scholar
Carey, R. G. (1977). The widowed: a year later. Journal of Counselling Psychology 24, 125–131.Google Scholar
Clayton, P. J., Desmarais, L. & Winokur, G. (1968). A study of normal bereavement. American Journal of Psychiatry 125, 168–178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, J. & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Erlbaum: Hillsdale. NJ.Google Scholar
Comstock, G. W. & Helsing, K. J. (1976). Symptoms of depression in two communities. Psychological Medicine 6, 551–563.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cornoni-Huntley, J. C., Brock, D. B., Ostfeld, A. M., Taylor, J. O. & Wallace, R. B. (eds) (1986). Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly. Resource Data Book. National Institute on Aging. NIH Publication No. 86–2443: Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Craig, T. J. & Van Nattan, P. A. (1976). Presence and persistence of depressive symptoms in patient and community populations. American Journal of Psychiatry 133, 1426–1429.Google ScholarPubMed
Fenwick, R. & Baresi, C. M. (1981). Health consequences of marital-status change among the elderly: a comparison of cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 22, 106–116.Google Scholar
Fuhrer, R., Antonucci, T. C., Gagnon, M., Dartigues, J.-F., Barberger, P. & Alperovitch, A. (1992). Depressive symptomatology and cognitive functioning: an epidemiological survey in an elderly community sample in France. Psychological Medicine 22, 159–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harlow, S. D., Goldberg, E. L. & Comstock, G. W. (1991 a). A longitudinal study of the prevalence of depressive symptomatology in elderly widowed and married women. Archives of General Psychiatry 48, 1065–1068.Google Scholar
Harlow, S. D., Goldberg, E. L. & Comstock, G. W. (1991 b). A longitudinal study of risk factors for depressive symptomatology in elderly widowed and married women. American Journal of Epidemiology 134, 526–538.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hartz, G. W. (1986). Adult grief and its inference with mood disorder: proposal of a new diagnosis of complicated bereavement. Comprehensive Psychiatry 27, 60–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hays, J. C. (1991). Psychological distress, social environment, and seeking social support following conjugal bereavement. Ph.D. thesis. Yale University: New Haven, CT.Google Scholar
Hertzog, C., Vanalstine, J., Usala, P. D., Hultsch, D. F. & Dixon, R. (1990). Measurement properties of the Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale (CES-D) in older populations. Psychological Assessment 2, 64–72.Google Scholar
Himmelfarb, S. & Murrell, S. A. (1983). Reliability and validity of five mental health scales in older persons. Journal of Gerontology 38. 333–339.Google Scholar
Jackson, S. W. (1986). Melancholia and Depression from Hippocratic Times to Modern Times. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT.Google Scholar
Jacobs, S. C., Hansen, F. F., Berkman, L., Kasl, S. V. & Ostfeld, A. M. (1989). Depressions of bereavement. Comprehensive Psychiatry 30, 218–224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Katz, S., Downs, T. D., Cash, H. R. & Grotz, R. C. (1970). Progress in the development of an index of ADL. Gerontologist 10, 20–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McHorney, C. A. & Mor, V. (1988). Predictors of bereavement depression and its health services consequences. Medical Care 26, 882–893.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mendes de Leon, C. F., Kasl, S. V. & Jacobs, S. (1993). Widowhood and mortality risk in a community sample of the elderly: a prospective study. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 46, 519–527.Google Scholar
Murrell, S. A. & Himmelfarb, S. (1989). Effects of attachment, bereavement and pre-event conditions on subsequent depressive symptoms in older adults. Psychology and Aging 4, 166–172.Google Scholar
Myers, T. K. & Weissman, M. M. (1980). Use of a self-report symptom scale to detect depression in a community sample. American Journal of Psychiatry 137, 1081–1088.Google Scholar
Nagi, S. Z. (1976). An epidemiology of disability among adults in the United States. Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly 54, 438–468.Google Scholar
Neugarten, B. (1970). Adaptation and the life cycle. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 4, 71–100.Google ScholarPubMed
Parkes, C. M. (1965). Bereavement and mental illness. Part 2. Classification of bereavement reactions. British Journal of Medicine and Psychology 38, 13–26.Google Scholar
Pfeiffer, E. (1975). SPMSQ: Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 23, 433–441.Google Scholar
Radloff, L. (1977). The CES-D Scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement 1, 385–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Radloff, L. S. & Teri, L. (1986). Use of the Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression scale with older adults. In Clinical Gerontology (ed. Brink, T. L.), ch. 6, pp. 119–136. Haworth Press: New York.Google Scholar
Richards, J. G. & McCallum, J. (1979). Bereavement in the elderly. New Zealand Medical Journal 89, 201–204.Google Scholar
Roberts, R. E. & Vernon, S. W. (1983). The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale: its use in a community sample. American Journal of Psychiatry 140, 41–46.Google Scholar
Rosow, I. & Breslau, H. (1966). A Guttman health scale for the aged. Journal of Gerontology 21, 556–559.Google Scholar
Vachon, M. L. S., Rogers, J., Lyall, A., Lancee, W. J., Sheldon, A. R. & Freeman, S. J. J. (1982). Predictors and correlates of adaptation to conjugal bereavement. American Journal of Psychiatry 139, 998–1002.Google ScholarPubMed
Wolinski, F. D. & Johnson, R. J. (1992). Widowhood, health status, and the use of health services by older adults: a cross-sectional and prospective approach. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 47, S8–S16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zisook, S. & Schuchter, S. R. (1991). Depression through the first year after the death of a spouse. American Journal of Psychiatry 148, 1346–1352.Google ScholarPubMed