“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.