Prolonged grief and posttraumatic growth among middle-aged and older widowed persons: A latent class analysis and testing for the role of social support

Abstract

Evidence has shown that symptoms of grief co-occur with posttraumatic growth following loss. Using latent class analysis among a Togolese sample of middle-aged/older widowed persons, we identified three classes along their experiences of grief-growth interaction (combined grief/growth, predominantly growth, and low-medium growth classes). The combined grief/growth class members were more likely to have lost their spouses recently and to report greater marital relationship satisfaction with their spouse before their death. The perceived social support from family was predictive of the predominantly growth class membership. The findings provide a nuanced understanding of grief, which is dominated by psychopathology and negative outcomes.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.