Adopting Network Analysis to Understand Grief and Loneliness Among Bereaved Older Adults

Loneliness is common among older adults and may adversely influence their wellbeing. However, its relations with bereavement-related grief are underexamined. This study utilized network analysis to examine the symptom structures of grief reactions and loneliness and the relations among the symptoms by using secondary survey data from 300 Chinese bereaved older adults in Hong Kong. Centrality analysis revealed that bitterness, disbelief over the death, and upsetting memories were found to be the most central grief symptoms were the most central grief symptoms while not having enough people to feel close to or trust completely was most central for loneliness. The strongest bridge strengths between indicators of loneliness and grief were symptoms of emptiness, feeling lonely, and perceived rejection from others. These findings highlight potential symptoms for working with bereaved older adults. In addition, the results underscore the need for older adult-specific research and tailored bereavement and grief interventions.