Zisook S, Shuchter S R, Sledge P, Mulvihill M
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego.
J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 1993 Jul-Sep;6(3):137-43. doi: 10.1177/089198879300600302.
This paper compares the grief responses of widows and widowers of different age groups over the 1st year of bereavement. The results strongly suggest that older widows and widowers perceive themselves as adjusting better to their loss and suffering from less depression and fewer anxiety symptoms than their younger counterparts. Furthermore, the oldest widows/widowers demonstrate the most consistent improvement in their levels of distress over time. Thus, when it comes to coping, older persons are not at the disadvantage that certain stereotypes and "clinical wisdoms" have previously suggested. Seniors are every bit as adaptive and able to cope with the severest forms of stress as anyone else, and they are, if anything, less prone to depression than are younger individuals.
本文比较了不同年龄组的寡妇和鳏夫在丧亲后第1年的悲伤反应。结果有力地表明，与年轻的寡妇和鳏夫相比，年长的寡妇和鳏夫认为自己能更好地适应丧亲之痛，抑郁程度更低，焦虑症状更少。此外，年龄最大的寡妇/鳏夫随着时间推移，其痛苦程度的改善最为稳定。因此，在应对丧亲之痛方面，老年人并不像某些刻板印象和“临床经验”此前所暗示的那样处于劣势。老年人和其他人一样具有适应能力，能够应对最严重的压力形式，而且，如果有什么不同的话，他们比年轻人更不容易抑郁。
