Time course of spousal bereavement

Abstract

This article reports the results of a survey on 300 widows and widowers who experienced spousal bereavement weeks to years prior to the study, and discusses the symptoms, syndromes, and behaviors seen at various time intervals. Although the reactions to widowhood were highly variable and individual, it was clear that for many widows and widowers, the time course of grief was much more prolonged than generally expected. Dysphoric feelings, symptoms, and behaviors were most frequent during the first year of bereavement, but often remained present even four or more years after the death. In particular, anger, guilt, depression, and anxiety tended to diminish over time, but not to statistically significant degrees. Many widows and widowers never fully accepted the fact of their spouses' deaths and maintained a continuing relationship with their deceased spouses, in their own ways, indefinitely. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.