Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T04:01:03.149Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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

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

Andrews, G., Tennant, C., Hewson, D. M. & Vaillant, G. E. (1978). Life event stress, social support, coping style, and risk of psychological impairment. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 166, 307–316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caplan, G. (1981). Mastery of stress: psychosocial aspects. American Journal of Psychiatry 138, 413–420.Google ScholarPubMed
Cattell, R. B., Eber, H. W. & Tatsuoka, M. M. (1970). Handbook for the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire. Institute for Personality and Ability Testing: Champaign, III.Google Scholar
Dohrenwend, B. P. (1975). Sociocultural and social-psychological factors in the genesis of mental disorders. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 16 (4), 365–392.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dohrenwend, B. S. & Martin, J. L. (1979). Personal versus situational determination of anticipation and control of the occurrence of stressful life events. American Journal of Community Psychology 7 (4), 453–468.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Folkman, S. & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). Coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 21, 219–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garrity, T. F., Somes, G. W. & Marx, M. D. (1977). Personality factors in resistance to illness after recent life changes. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 21, 23–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldberg, D. P. (1972). The Detection of Psychiatric Illness by Questionnaire. Maudsley Monograph No. 21. Oxford University Press: London.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D. P. (1979). Manual of the General Health Questionnaire. NFER: Windsor.Google Scholar
Henderson, S. (1977). The social network, support and neurosis: the function of attachment in adult life. British Journal of Psychiatry 131, 185–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ilfeld, F. W. (1977). Current social stressors and symptoms of depression. American Journal of Psychiatry 134 (2), 161–166.Google ScholarPubMed
Jenkins, C. D. (1979). Psychosocial modifiers of response to stress. Journal of Human Stress 5 (4), 3–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, J. H. & Sarason, I. G. (1978). Life Stress, depression and anxiety: internal–external control as a moderator variable. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 22, 205–208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kobasa, S.C. (1979). Stressful life events, personality, and health: an inquiry into hardiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37 (1), 1–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mitchell, R. E. & Trickett, E. J. (1980). Task force report: social networks as mediators of social support, an analysis of the effects and determinants of social networks. Community Mental Health Journal 16, 27–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mueller, D. P. (1980). Social networks: a promising direction for research on the relationship of the social environment to psychiatric disorder. Social Science and Medicine 14A, 147–161.Google Scholar
Rabkin, J. G. & Struening, E. L. (1976). Life events, stress, and illness. Science 194, 1013–1020.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rahe, R. H. & Arthur, R. J. (1978). Life change and illness studies: past history and future directions. Journal of Human Stress 4 (1), 3–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rogers, J., Vachon, M. L. S., Lyall, W. A. L., Sheldon, A. & Freeman, S. J. J. (1980). A self-help program for widows as an independent community service. Hospital and Community Psychiatry 31, 844–847.Google ScholarPubMed
Vachon, M. L. S., Lyall, W. A. L., Rogers, J., Freedman, K. & Freeman, S. J. J. (1980). A controlled study of self-help intervention for widows. American Journal of Psychiatry 137, 1380–1384.Google ScholarPubMed
Vachon, M. L. S., Lancee, W., Sheldon, A. R., Lyall, W. A. & Freeman, S. J. J. (1982). Predictors and correlates of high distress in adaptation to conjugal bereavement. American Journal of Psychiatry (in the press).Google Scholar