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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 29, 2026

Setup and Execution of the Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice Death Notification Curriculum

Setup and Execution of the Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice Death Notification Curriculum

Published on: August 5, 2020

Perceived self-competency among the recently bereaved.

Rebecca L Utz¹, Dale A Lund, Michael S Caserta

¹Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. Rebecca.utz@utah.edu

Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life & Palliative Care

|September 8, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Personal resources like income and health significantly boost self-competency in older adults after widowhood. Marital quality and death forewarning did not impact competency, but higher competency linked to better mental health.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 29, 2026

Setup and Execution of the Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice Death Notification Curriculum

Setup and Execution of the Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice Death Notification Curriculum

Published on: August 5, 2020

Area of Science:

Gerontology
Psychology
Sociology

Background:

Bereavement in older adults presents unique challenges to self-competency and daily functioning.
Understanding factors influencing adaptation post-widowhood is crucial for targeted support.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify personal resources, marital factors, and death circumstances influencing self-competency in recently bereaved older adults.
To explore the relationship between self-competency and mental health outcomes following widowhood.

Main Methods:

Data collected from 328 widowed individuals participating in the "Living After Loss" project.
Analysis focused on personal resources (income, health), marital relationship features, and death circumstances.

Main Results:

Higher income and better self-reported health were associated with greater perceived self-competency in daily tasks.
Neither prior knowledge of the impending death nor the quality of the marital relationship predicted post-widowhood competency.
Increased self-competency correlated with more positive mental health outcomes.

Conclusions:

Personal resources are key determinants of self-competency following bereavement in older adults.
The adaptation process involves managing daily life activities alongside emotional grief.
Interventions could focus on bolstering personal resources to enhance resilience in widowed older adults.