Studies // Cited work
Resilience to loss and chronic grief: A prospective study from preloss to 18-months postloss
Bonanno, G. A., Wortman, C. B., Lehman, D. R., Tweed, R. G., Haring, M., Sonnega, J., Carr, D., & Nesse, R. M. (2002). Resilience to loss and chronic grief: A prospective study from preloss to 18-months postloss.
Level C Longitudinal study doi:10.1037/0022-3514.83.5.1150
What this study supports
Supports the claims that five trajectories were identified, that resilience was the most frequent pattern and common grief relatively infrequent, and that chronic grief was associated with preloss dependency. One cohort of spousal loss in later life.
- Who was studied
- 205 older adults assessed several years before the death of their spouse and 6 and 18 months after it.
- Design
- Longitudinal study
- Level of evidence
- Longitudinal and repeated-measures studies without random assignment.
Claims that rest on it
Each claim states what the site asserts, at what strength, and with what caveat.
EmpiricalLevel CConfidence MODERATE
Bereavement is associated with excess health risks, yet most bereaved people adjust without professional psychological intervention, and in a prospective study of spousal loss resilience was the most frequent trajectory.
- Scope
- Adult bereavement; the trajectory data come from older adults who lost a spouse.
- Caveat
- Trajectories after sudden, violent or child deaths may differ, and resilience describes measured symptoms and functioning, not the absence of missing the person.
Last reviewed · Review due · most-bereaved-adapt-without-intervention