Dyadic daily examination of repetitive thought and well-being in bereaved parents

Official URL: https://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b3403588

We aim to investigate the bidirectional longitudinal associations of repetitive thought (i.e., rumination, yearning) with individual (i.e, grief levels, depressive symptoms) and relational well-being (relationship satisfaction, closeness, and trust) in bereaved parents. The Response Styles Theory posits a reciprocal link between repetitive thought and well-being. However, past studies provided mixed evidence for individual well-being, and no study has yet examined this claim for relational well-being. Furthermore, the potential reciprocal effects between bereaved parents’ repetitive thought and well-being have not been tested with a dyadic lens. In total, 483 Turkish bereaved parents (228 couples, 27 individuals) participated in a seven-day dyadic diary. We conducted Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model analyses to disentangle within- and between-person effects. The results yielded limited evidence for the longitudinal within-person effects: Although bereaved parents’ higher-than-usual rumination predicted lower relational well-being in the partner the next day, no longitudinal link appeared for individual well-being. At the betweenperson level, bereaved parents’ repetitive thought was related to their and their partner’s individual but not relational well-being. Our findings revealed that bereaved parents’ interdependence in repetitive thought and well-being is more evident for individual well-being at the between-person level, but daily rumination is a risk factor for the partner’s relational well-being longitudinally.