"From my life, she will never be gone, even though she is no longer here" - a single case interpretative phenomenological analysis on spousal loss and resilience.

Abstract

Older people often face drastic life events, such as spousal loss, that profoundly affect their daily lives. Consequently, resilience-how one navigates life's changes to avoid further adverse outcomes-is increasingly relevant in ageing studies. Although understanding older adults' resilience is key to preventing adverse outcomes, the complexity of loss-related events and everyday resilience in later life is underexplored from a process-based perspective. This study employs an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) case study of one individual to investigate resilience in response to spousal loss from a process-based perspective. Four interviews were conducted with this one participant and data was analysed following IPA guidelines. Findings indicate how resilience, in this case, resembles a process of continuous adaptation and renewal or "bouncing forward", in the face of diverse adversities, as written by Bourbeau. This study enriches our understanding of the process-based perspective on resilience, which is essential for concretely defining resilience and its practical application.