Abstract
Intimate partner loss in later life can be one of the most stressful events in adulthood. Individuals who struggle to adapt to the new life conditions may need support from a mental health professional. However, less is known about the likelihood to seek professional help after separation, divorce, or bereavement in later life and associated factors. This study investigated professional help-seeking (PHS) for partner loss after a long-term marriage in separated, divorced, and bereaved individuals and examined the extent to which specific person and event-related variables, as well as depressive symptoms, increase its likelihood. The data were derived from the LIVES “Intimate Partner Loss Study.” The self-administered questionnaires were completed by 388 adults. PHS was higher after separation (57%) and divorce (49%), compared to widowhood (18%). Higher likelihood of PHS was associated with separation and divorce, female gender, having someone to count on, loss unexpectedness, needing more time to overcome the loss, and more depressive symptoms. Informing individuals unlikely to seek help (e.g., males, bereaved, and individuals with no confidant) about PHS benefits may facilitate adaptation to partner loss.
Highlights
Losing their spouse, either through divorce or death, represents a critical life event with substantial consequences in many key life domains for most individuals (Amato, 2000; Utz et al, 2012; Lin et al, 2019)
We focused on individuals who had lost their partner up to 24 months prior to study participation, as this time frame represents the main adaptation phase to partner loss according to the past research (Booth and Amato, 1991; Bonanno et al, 2002; Lucas, 2005; Pudrovska and Carr, 2008)
While groups did not differ in education, they did in financial adequacy: compared to separated (13%) and divorced individuals (18%), the bereaved were more satisfied with their financial situation, with only 2% of them reporting not having enough money to support their needs (χ 2 = 18.18, p < 0.001; φ = 0.22)
Summary
Either through divorce or death, represents a critical life event with substantial consequences in many key life domains for most individuals (Amato, 2000; Utz et al, 2012; Lin et al, 2019). 8,000,000 citizens [Swiss Federal Office of Statistics (SFOS), 2021], a substantial number of people may have more difficulty with recovery. Helping these less resilient individuals to better adapt would be an important public health goal, and professional support via healthcare professionals, counselors or psychologists may enable individuals to more quickly accommodate and integrate loss into their lives. We compared separated, divorced, and bereaved individuals aged 40– 91 years regarding their likelihood of PHS in order to identify the frequency as well as the correlates of PHS. Taking all three groups into account allows us to compare the likelihood of PHS across them and to consider whether different correlates of PHS are involved
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