Rumination about the death of a spouse versus the severity of somatic symptom disorder and sleep disturbances in widowed individuals in late adulthood

Introduction: The aim of the study was to gain a better understanding of the role of emotion regulation (understood in terms of the intensity of intrusive and deliberate rumination about the death of a spouse) in the etiology of sleep disturbances and somatic symptom disorder in widowed people in late adulthood. Material and methods: The study involved 82 older people (66 women and 16 men) whose spouses had died at least six months before the study. The following measures were used: the Event Related Rumination Inventory (ERRI) to assess the intensity of intrusive and deliberate rumination; the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) (somatic symptoms scale) to assess the intensity of somatic symptom disorder; two items of the arousal subscale from the Event Impact Scale – Revised (IES-R) for evaluating the severity of sleep disorder symptoms; as well as a self-designed demographic data questionnaire. Results: The study showed that the intensity of somatic symptom disorder and sleep disturbances can be explained by intrusive rumination. No relationship was found between deliberate rumination and the severity of these disorders. Additionally, there is a positive relationship between the severity of somatic symptom disorder and the age of the study participants. Conclusions: The present findings can potentially be applied in therapeutic programs for widowed individuals who experience sleep disturbances and somatic symptom disorder as a result of unresolved grief. Keywords: somatic symptom disorder, insomnia, grief, death of a spouse, rumination