Bereaved older adults who seek early professional help

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Abstract
The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the characteristics of older bereaved spouses who sought early professional help related to their grief. Among a sample of 339 bereaved older adults, aged 50 years or older, 39 (11.5%) reported that they had obtained some form of professional help. The most commonly reported source of help sought was from clergy followed by that provided by the health-care system and community groups. Those who sought help reported higher depression, lower coping ability, and poorer perceived health as well as slightly lower self-esteem and instrumental and resource-identification skills. With a few exceptions, the particular source of help sought was not statistically related to many of the indicators examined.