Influence of Family Relationship on Mental Health after Spousal Loss

:A Study for Emotional Loneliness as a Mediater

Abstract

　　The Family relationship is said to be one of the most important moderators of the outcome of bereavement. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of family relationships on mental health mediated by emotional loneliness after spousal loss. The subjects were 70 bereaved persons who had lost their spouses in an hospice ward and 40 non-bereaved persons as control group. They answered a questionnaire about 1) emotional loneliness, 2) cohesion and expressiveness in family relationships (Family Environment Scale Japanese version), and 3) mental health (General Health Questionnaire Japanese version, 28 item version). As compared with the control group, widowed people reported more emotional loneliness. The impact of spousal loss on mental was health partially mediated by emotional loneliness. The results showed that family relationships had an indirect effect on mental health mediated by emotional loneliness. In conclusion, emotional loneliness partially mediates the impact of family relationships on mental health after spousal loss.