The Relationship Between Adjustment and Bereavement-Related Distress: A Longitudinal Study.

PSYCHOLOGICAL distress; SOCIAL science methodology; COUNSELORS; DIAGNOSIS of mental depression; MENTAL health; SOCIAL networks; ABILITY

The current study assessed 125 conjugally bereaved persons using multiple self-report measures as indicators of personal adjustment and bereavement distress across three times of testing (initial, 6-month, and 3-year follow-up). Cross-lagged panel analyses were conducted to examine the potentially causal relationships between indicators of both adjustment and bereavement distress. Across nearly all measures of general adjustment and bereavement distress, adjustment was significantly more predictive of bereavement distress than bereavement distress was predictive of adjustment from both Time 1 to Time 3 and Time 2 to Time 3. These findings suggest that difficulties in general adjustment may exacerbate bereavement distress and emphasize the importance of interventions targeting the acquisition of adaptive coping skills in conjugally bereaved persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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