Posttraumatic Growth in Widowed and Non-widowed Older Adults: Religiosity and Sense of Coherence.

Older people may experience psychological growth following a life major event. The objective of this study is to analyze the degree of posttraumatic growth (PTG) developed by widowed and non-widowed older adults (n = 103) as well as the impact of possible predicting variables such as sociodemographic characteristics, experienced or witnessed life major events, religiosity and sense of coherence. The findings suggest that, in spite of widowhood, elder people develop PTG in the same way that non-widowed elder people. Therefore, the support of a religious community, age, life major events experienced and the subjective meaning given to them correlated with PTG.