Object relations as a predictor of adjustment in conjugal bereavement

The impact of object relations on adjustment in conjugal bereavement was ex amined. At approximately 6 months postbereavement, 46 midlife bereaved part icipants engaged in a narrative interview in which they were asked to discu ss their past relationship with their deceased spouse. The Westen et al. ob ject relations scoring system was applied to these narratives. Participants also completed depression and grief-specific symptom measures at 6 months and again at 14 and 25 months postbereavement. Object relations correlated differently with grief-specific symptoms and depression; it was more strong ly negatively associated with 6 month postless grief-specific symptoms whil e more strongly negatively correlated with depression at 25 month postless. In a growth curve analysis, more mature object relations was also predicti ve of a faster rate of decrease in depression over time. The results were d iscussed in terms of current theoretical perspectives on what is required i n successful adaptation to conjugal bereavement.