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How does bereavement get under the skin? The effects of late-life spousal loss on cortisol levels.

Date
2013
Abstract
Objectives.We used data from the Changing Lives of Older Couples, a prospective multiwave study of 1,532 married individuals aged 65 and older, to investigate the extent to which spousal loss and death-context characteristics are associated with the stress hormone cortisol at 6 (W1) and 18 (W2) months postbereavement.Method.We used ordinary least squares regression models to estimate the effects of death-context characteristics (forewarning, caregiving, and postloss numbness, reported at W1) on cortisol levels (at W1 and W2). We included age and gender and evaluated a two-way interaction term between gender and death circumstances.
Supervisor
Description
peer-reviewed
Publisher
Gerontological Society of America. [Oxford University Press]
Citation
Journals of Gerontology. Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences;
Collections
Psychology
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Gallagher_2013_bereavement.pdf
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Keywords
bereavement, widowhood, stress, cortisol
ULRR Identifiers
https://researchrepository.ul.ie/handle/10344/4355
 https://doi.org/10.34961/8020
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Funding Information
Sustainable Development Goals
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Type
Article
Rights
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/
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