Pastime activities, social connectedness, and grief resolution: A brief report highlighting the salience of socializing for grief resolution among bereaved older adults

Pastime activities, social connectedness, and grief resolution: A brief report highlighting the salience of socializing for grief resolution among bereaved older adults
The Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease; by Xin Yao Lin, Holly G Prigerson, Yifan Chou, Paul K Maciejewski; 10/25
We sought to examine the relationship between pastime activities (i.e., activity engagement), social connectedness with family and friends, and severity of Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) symptoms across younger, middle-aged, and older adults. Cross-sectional findings showed that engagement in pastime activities (e.g., travel, sports) was associated with greater social connectedness for older adults, and social connectedness was associated with lower PGD symptom severity. Engagement in pastime activities was associated with lower PGD symptom severity for middle-aged adults. Results are consistent with the socioemotional selectivity theory and the microsociological theory of adjustment to loss and suggest that grief interventions should have age-specific strategies, encourage specific pastime activities, and promote feelings of social connectedness.