Social support as a predictor of variability: an examination of the adjustment trajectories of recent widows

Abstract

The variability pattern of emotional well-being in recent widows across a 98-day period beginning in the first month post-loss has previously been modeled by dynamical systems and shown to be an oscillating process that damps across time. The goal of the present study was to examine how variables that comprise the social support network predict characteristics of these emotional shifts in 28 recent widows. In the present study, emotional support seeking led to a steeper overall trend, whereas perceived control for social support led to a shallower overall trend. When examining intraindividual variability, instrumental support seeking predicted a slower damping rate. Understanding the individual differences in the variability patterns of recent widows is a necessary step in identifying the etiology of adjustment to widowhood.