Predictors and correlates of adaptation to conjugal bereavement.

The authors interviewed 162 widows 1, 6, 12, and 24 months after bereavement to determine which sociodemographic, prebereavement, and response variables and circumstances of the husband's death were related to distress level, as measured by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The most important variable associated with high distress at 1 month was the woman's perception that she was seeing old friends less than before her husband's death. At 2 years it was possible to predict distress levels with 86% accuracy by means of a multiple regression analysis using 10 variables, including 1-month GHQ score, short final illness of the husband, and satisfaction with available help.

A psychosocial analysis of risk of psychological impairment following bereavement.

A multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the explanatory potential of a multidimensional approach to risk of psychological impairment. Information from a study of bereavement in Canadian women included meaning of the event to the individual, personality attributes, social supports available following bereavement and sociodemographic data. Risk of psychological impairment was estimated by score on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Sixty-four per cent of the variance in GHQ scores at one month postbereavement was accounted for. The authors hypothesize that the addition of a measure of coping styles and more comprehensive measures of the other dimensions studied would increase the power of the technique. It seems critical to take into account the possible large effects of sociodemographic factors.