Trajectories of geriatric depression after spousal loss: Effects of sudden loss and social engagement

Abstract

Objectives: Bereavement poses a significant mental health risk later in life; however, many older adults exhibit resilience in the face of loss. Based on the Dual Process Model (DPM) of coping with bereavement, this study investigated how psychological and social factors pertaining to loss- and restoration-oriented processes predict geriatric depression trajectories following spousal loss. Method: This study used longitudinal multilevel modeling to analyze eight waves of data (2006–2020) from 510 bereaved individuals participating in the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA). Results: Sudden loss (intercept b = 0.54, p < 0.05) led to increases in depression, but this effect decreased over time (slope b = −0.25, p < 0.05). Conversely, meeting friends (intercept b = −0.33, p < 0.01) was consistently associated with lower depression. Among the covariates, time, older age, higher health and economic satisfaction, and lower baseline depression were all connected to lower depression levels. Conclusion: The findings provide new evidence on the applicability of the DPM to bereaved South Korean older adults, demonstrating that while loss-oriented processes predict short-term outcomes, restoration-oriented processes facilitate long-term adaptation. Clinical assessments and interventions could target both immediate loss perceptions and ongoing social engagements to address geriatric depression following spousal loss.