Multiple Role Involvements and the Adjustment to Conjugal Bereavement: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

The relationship between multiple role involvements and the adjustment to conjugal bereavement was examined with a sample of surviving spouses ranging in age from twenty-four to seventy-four. Data from forty-nine respondents indicated a significant, positive correlation between the number of roles reported and an adjustment score. The self-report behavioral measure of role involvements was a better predictor of adjustment to bereavement than was sex, age, elapsed time since the spouse's death, educational attainment, income level, or religiosity. Significant, positive correlations were also obtained between the number of role involvements and scores from the Purpose-in-Life test.