The impact of widowhood on depression: findings from a prospective survey

Background. We investigated the impact of widowhood on depression and how r esources and contextual factors that define the meaning of loss modified th is effect. Method. In a prospective, nationally representative sample of women in the US aged 54 or older we compared 64 women who were widowed in the 3 years be tween data collection waves with 431 women who were stably married over the time interval. Results. Those who became widowed reported more depression than controls fo r 2 years following the loss. However, this effect was confined to responde nts whose husbands were not ill at baseline. Widowed women whose husbands w ere ill at baseline already had elevated depression in the baseline intervi ew and did not become significantly more depressed after the death. Consist ent with this result, women who were not depressed pre-bereavement were mos t vulnerable to depression following the loss of an ill spouse during the f irst year of widowhood. Conclusions. Results suggest that spouses' illness may forewarn wives of th eir impending loss and these women may begin to grieve before his death. Th ose forewarned women who are not depressed pre-bereavement may experience t he most post-bereavement depression. Findings are discussed in light of pre vious, more methodologically limited studies.