Grief travels different paths

A rare study of elderly individuals before and after the death of their spouses finds that a surprisingly large number stayed on an even emotional keel. The rest displayed more troubled responses.

Using interviews and questionnaires, a team led by George A. Bonanno of Columbia University and Camille B. Wortman of the State University of New York at Stony Brook studied 205 men and women around 3 years before their spouses’ deaths and 6 months and 18 months after.