How do risk factors affect bereavement outcomes in later life? An exploration of the mediating role of dual process coping

Abstract

This study is an exploratory study that aims to examine the mediating role of dual process coping in the relationship between risk factors and bereavement outcomes. A total of 178 Hong Kong Chinese bereaved older adults reported their bereavement-related information, dual process coping (Dual Coping Inventory, DCI), complicated grief (Inventory of Complicated Grief; ICG), depression (Geriatric Depression Scale, GDS) and loneliness (De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, DJG) in face-to-face structured interviews. Results suggested that subjective traumatic death predicted complicated grief, depression, and loneliness via loss-orientated (LO) coping, whereas having lost a spouse rather than having lost a parent predicted loneliness via restoration-orientated (RO) coping. Future interventions may reconsider the use of LO coping and explore alternatives for traumatized bereaved older adults, and encourage RO coping for those experiencing spousal loss.

Keywords: Complicated grief; Depression; Dual process coping; Loneliness; Mediation; Older adults; Risk factor.