The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
Unit for Bereavement Research, Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Psychol Med. 2023 Apr;53(5):1770-1777. doi: 10.1017/S0033291721003391. Epub 2021 Sep 10.
Gender has been proposed as a potentially important predictor of bereavement outcomes. The majority of research in the field has explored this issue by examining gender differences in global grief severity. Findings have been mixed. In this study, we explore potential gender differences in grief using network analysis. This approach examines how individual symptoms relate to and reinforce each other, and so offers potential to shed light on novel aspects of grief expression across genders.
Graphical lasso networks were constructed using self-report data from 839 spousally bereaved older participants (584 female, 255 male) collected at 2- and 11- months post-bereavement. Edge strength, node strength and global network strength were compared to identify similarities and differences between gender networks across time.
At both time points, the strongest connection for both genders was from yearning to pangs of grief. Yearning, pangs of grief, acceptance, bitterness and shock were prominent nodes at time 1. Numbness and meaninglessness emerged as prominent nodes at time 2. Males and females differed in the relative importance of shock at time 1, and the female network had greater overall strength than the male network at time 2.
This study identified many similarities and few differences in the relationships between prolonged grief symptoms for males and females. Findings suggest that future studies should examine alternate sources of variation in grief outcomes. Limitations are discussed.
性别被认为是预测丧亲结局的一个重要因素。该领域的大多数研究都是通过检查全球悲伤严重程度的性别差异来探索这个问题。研究结果不一。在这项研究中，我们使用网络分析来探索悲伤方面的潜在性别差异。这种方法考察了个体症状之间如何相互关联和相互强化，因此有可能揭示性别之间悲伤表达的新方面。
使用 839 名配偶丧亲的老年参与者（584 名女性，255 名男性）在丧亲后 2 个月和 11 个月时的自我报告数据构建图形套索网络。比较边缘强度、节点强度和全局网络强度，以确定性别网络在不同时间的相似性和差异。
在两个时间点，两种性别最强的连接都是从渴望到悲伤的刺痛。渴望、悲伤的刺痛、接受、痛苦和震惊是第 1 时间的突出节点。麻木和无意义在第 2 时间成为突出节点。男性和女性在第 1 时间震惊的相对重要性上存在差异，女性网络在第 2 时间的整体强度大于男性网络。
本研究确定了男性和女性之间持续性悲伤症状之间存在许多相似之处和少数差异。研究结果表明，未来的研究应该检查悲伤结果中其他来源的变化。讨论了局限性。
