Predictors of health-related quality of life perspectives, self-esteem, and life satisfactions of older adults following spousal loss: An 18-month follow-up study widows and widowers

Purpose of the Study: The overall purpose of the study was to examine the r elationship between widowed persons' baseline assessments of self-efficacy beliefs and their ratings of perceived health-related quality of life, life satisfactions, and self-esteem obtained in an 18-month follow-up. Design a nd Method: At Time 1, a survey of sociodemographics, a multidimensional mea sure of global self-efficacy, and a domain-specific measure of self-efficac y, having eight subscales of self-efficacy (interpersonal, instrumental, em otional, social support, nutritional, physical, financial, and spiritual) w ere administered to a group of 231 widows and widowers to obtain baseline a ssessments of their self-efficacy beliefs. At Time 2, a follow-up of 211 wi dows and widowers was conducted to obtain their perceptions of health-relat ed quality of life, life satisfactions, and levels of self-esteem 24 months following spousal loss and to assess whether self-efficacy beliefs play a predictive role in widowed individuals' perceptions of their health-related quality of life, life satisfactions, and self-esteem. Results: A series of gender-specific multiple regression analyses models revealed that widows a nd widowers differ significantly with respect to the relationship between s pecific domains of self-efficacy and their perceived quality of life in the longer term following spousal loss Implications: Implications of the findi ngs are discussed for clinicians and health professionals working with bere aved spouses in terms of intervention programs for retraining of self-effic acy.