When goodbyes matter: The conditional relationship between final conversations and symptoms of depression

Abstract

An online survey of 528 people who lost someone close to them in the last 5 years was used to test associations between having final conversations (FCs) and depression. The direct effect was nonsignificant, but there were two significant moderation effects. Time since bereavement moderated the FC–depression relationship; there was a negative relationship between FCs and depression shortly following bereavement, but no relationship after more time had passed. The age of the deceased also moderated this relationship; there was a negative relationship between FCs and depression when the deceased was older, but no relationship when the deceased was younger.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Dr. Matt Lapierre for his encouragement in pursuing this project.

Data availability statement

The data is available from the first author upon request.

Notes

1 Participants provided consent by selecting “yes” in response to the question/statement, “I consent to participate in this study” which appeared immediately following the consent information and was the first question in the Qualtrics survey. Participants who selected “no” were automatically routed out of the survey.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Arizona Graduate and Professional Student Council.