Psychological Consequences of Early Demise of Spouses and the Effect of the Coping Strategies on the Health of the Survivors in Ogun State, Nigeria. (Published)
This study investigated the effect of coping strategies on psychological consequences of early demise on surviving spouses in Ogun Sate .Two thousand respondents were selected using a purposive sampling technique, while the instrument for data collection was a psychological consequences of early demise on surviving spouses questionnaire (r=0.75). Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data at 0.05 level of significance.
The results of regression analysis on joint effects of coping strategies on the psychological consequences was significant (F(6,1993) = 387.10, P<0.05). The relative contributions of the coping variables on the psychological consequences variable are in the following descending order: relocating (=4.22, t=21.68, P<0.05), (=4.12, t=19.18; P<0.05), recreation/exercise (=4.12, t=19.18; P<0.05), engaging in more social activities (=3.98, t=18.27; P<0.05), comfort from admirers (=3.14, t=17.44; P<0.05), comfort from children (=2.01, t=12.84; P<0.05) and burying oneself in work (=1.34, t=4.06; P<0.05).
The study identified the psychological consequences arising from early demise of spouses were instrumental for the throes and sorrow experienced by the surviving spouses. The recommendations included: the survivor should relocate to another place to pick up the pieces of their shattered life and start another life again, more over a new widow or widower should seek helpful counsel from experienced widows and widowers who have successfully adjusted to normal life after the tragic event.
Keywords: Coping, Early Demise, Psychological Consequences, Spouses, Well-being