A Study on the Effects of the Quality of Conjugal Death, Coping Resources in the Adjustment to Widowhood among Older Adults -The Mediating Effect of Selection, Optimization,Compensation (SOC) Coping Strategies
AUTHOR : 손의성,홍세희
INFORMATION : page. 65~86 / 2007 Vol.14 No.3
ABSTRACT
This study examines the causal structural model of adjustment to widowhood, and the group differences in the causal model by multi-group simultaneous analysis. The research model hypothesized that the quality of conjugal death, coping resources and coping strategies affect adjustment to widowhood among the elderly, and that coping strategies mediate between the quality of conjugal death, coping resources and adjustment to widowhood. For the purpose of empirical testing, the research data were collected nationwide on the bereaved. The sample was restricted to 65 year old people less than 5 years after bereavement. 402 samples (103 males: 299 females) were analyzed. Major findings in this study follow. First, the causal model demonstrated the effectiveness of the analysis of the structural equation model, and that all exogenous variables (quality of conjugal death, coping resources and coping strategies) positively affectedthe adjustment to widowhood among older adults. Second, coping strategies were demonstrated to mediate between coping resources and the adjustment to widowhood, and the partial mediating model was more suitable than the full mediating model.