Adaptive Change in Self-Concept and Well-Being during Conjugal Loss in Later Life

Abstract

The present study examines the association between the self-concept and adaptation to conjugal loss; the primary aim was to explore whether those individuals high in self-esteem, environmental mastery, and optimism have more adaptive resources with which to ameliorate the detrimental sequelae of bereavement. Analyses were conducted on data collected from 58 widows every four months over a two-year period. One goal of the research was to explore the adequacy of the theoretically chosen operational definition of the self-concept; another goal was to analyze how changes in the level of self-concept components correlated with changes in levels of depression, health, and grief resolution as individuals adjusted to their losses. Analyses revealed that trajectories of depression and grief resolution were more highly related than health to changes in self-concept.