Spousal Mourning for Partners Living with Cognitive Impairment: The Interplay of Attachment and the Two-Track Model of Dementia Grief

Alexander Manevich, Simon Shimshon Rubin, Michael Katz, Rachel Ben-Hayun, Judith Aharon-Peretz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The aim of the present research was to study the interplay of Attachment Theory and the Two-Track Model of Dementia Grief. To examine the research hypotheses, a cross-sectional study was designed and included 122 participants (Mean age = 72.77) drawn from four groups: spouses of people living with mild to moderate cognitive impairment, spouses of people living with advanced cognitive impairment, widowed spouses of deceased dementia patients, and a control group. Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires. Results showed that secure attachment constitutes a significant protective factor with regard to bio-psycho-social symptomatology (Track I) as well as difficulties in the relational bond with the spouse and grief over their deterioration (Track II). The results of the research support integrating attachment-based insights into clinical work with spouses coping with the losses accompanying cognitive decline and the grief processes that are operant in these losses.

Original languageEnglish
Number of pages26
JournalOmega: Journal of Death and Dying
Volume91
Issue number2
Early online date25 Nov 2022
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.

Keywords

  • attachment
  • bereavement
  • dementia
  • grief
  • loss
  • two-track model
  • Cognitive Dysfunction/psychology
  • Grief
  • Object Attachment
  • Spouses/psychology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Widowhood/psychology
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Female
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Aged
  • Dementia/psychology
  • Adaptation, Psychological

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

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