The Role of Dispositional Resilience in Regaining Life Satisfaction after the Loss of a Spouse

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine dispositional resilience in the perceived stress–life satisfaction relation following conjugal loss. The sample included 55 widows, assessed on average, 1 month following the death of a spouse. Results supported dispositional resilience as a mediator (the initial relation between perceived stress and life satisfaction was significant, but reduced to a non-significant level once dispositional resilience was included in the model) and a moderator (the interaction between perceived stress and dispositional resilience significantly predicted life satisfaction) between perceived stress and life satisfaction. This research identifies personality characteristics that may be importantly involved in the adjustment to widowhood and discusses implications of mediators vs. moderators in this process.

This study was supported in part by grants from the National Institute on Aging (1 RO3 AG18570-01), the American Psychological Association Division 20–Retirement Research Foundation Student Awards Program of 1999, and the William Kirby Endowment for Research, University of Notre Dame.

This project would not have been possible without the extraordinary generosity of the widows who shared their stories. They have displayed tremendous courage and grace in their ability to recapture the joy of loving their husbands and the pain of losing them. Additionally, thanks are due to Jack Mayer and David Pillemer, who provided helpful feedback for earlier versions of this article.

Notes

¹All procedures followed in the current study were approved and monitored by the University Committee on the Protection of Human Subjects and through the National Institute of Aging grant review process.

∗∗p ≤ .01.

N = 55.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Toni L. Bisconti

Toni L. Bisconti is now at the University of Akron, Department of Psychology