Religion and Emotional Compensation: Results from a Prospective Study of Widowhood

• Published in: Personality & social psychology bulletin Vol. 30; no. 9; pp. 1165 - 1174
• Main Authors: Brown, Stephanie L., Nesse, Randolph M., House, James S., Utz, Rebecca L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA SAGE Publications 01-09-2004; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Attachment theory; Bereavement; Compensation and Redress; Elderly people; Emotional coping; Emotions; Female; Grief; Humans; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Psychological Theory; Psychology; Religion; Religion and Psychology; Religious beliefs; Spirituality; USA; Widowhood; Widowhood - psychology; Widows & widowers; bereavement; attachment theory; widowhood; religion; grief
• ISSN: 0146-1672; 1552-7433
• DOI: 10.1177/0146167204263752

Based on recent applications of attachment theory to religion, the authors predicted that the loss of a spouse would cause widowed individuals to increase the importance of their religious/spiritual beliefs. This hypothesis was examined using the Changing Lives of Older Couples sample from which preloss measures of religiosity were available for widowed individuals and matched controls. A total of 103 widowed individuals provided follow-up data, including reports of religious beliefs and grief, at 6 months, 24 months, and 48 months after the loss. Results indicated that widowed individuals were more likely than controls to increase their religious/spiritual beliefs. This increase was associated with decreased grief but did not influence other indicators of adjustment such as depression. Finally, insecure individuals were most likely to benefit from increasing the importance of their beliefs. Results are discussed in terms of the potential value of applying psychological theory to the study of religion.