Sensory experiences of one’s deceased spouse in older adults: An analysis of predisposing factors

Abstract

Objectives: This study focuses on pre-disposing factors associated with sensory experiences of the deceased (SED), also called bereavement hallucinations. Even though SED are common among older widowed adults, our knowledge of these experiences is still limited. Method: Survey responses were obtained from 310 older widowed participants (M ¼ 70.05 ± 8.39), complemented with data from Danish national registers. Results: Hierarchical logistic regression analysis revealed four significant pre-disposing factors: prior experiences of SED in the context of previous significant bereavements (OR ¼ 6.47), a history of interpersonal trauma (OR ¼ 3.22), high pre-death relationship closeness (OR ¼ 2.76) and stronger religious/spiritual worldview (OR ¼ 1.11). No association to registered mental health diagnosis was identified. Conclusion: SED may be considered an interpersonal experience, which may be more likely to occur if the pre-death relationship is described as very close and if the bereaved has previously experienced interpersonal trauma. We argue that SED should not necessarily be considered an indication of neurodegenerative or psychiatric diseases.

Prevalence and Phenomenology of Sensory Experiences of a Deceased Spouse: A Survey of Bereaved Older Adults

“…Thirdly, the generalizability of the results beyond Scandinavia might be limited. However, SED are recognized as a cross-cultural phenomenon (Kamp et al, 2020;, and the results generally align with results from previous research studies conducted in Europe and the USA, pointing to the relevance of the present results in a wider context.…”

“…To our knowledge, there does not exist a validated measure of SED; instead previous research has generally relied on various self-report single items or semistructured interviews to assess SED (see Kamp et al, 2020 for a recent overview of different approaches used to assess SED). Therefore, a self-report survey questionnaire was developed by the first author to measure a wide-ranging set of characteristics of SED in a larger sample.…”

“…Bereavement is a natural but often highly stressful experience, to which the majority of people are able to adjust after a period of acute grief (Bonanno & Malgaroli, 2019). Reports of sensory experiences of the deceased, as well as more general quasi-sensory experiences, are common following bereavement (Castelnovo et al, 2015;Kamp et al, 2020). The experiences may entail any of the five senses, as illustrated by this example of a tactile experience: 'When I sat alone at the dining table, I felt how she put her arm round my shoulders as she used to do when she served me food' (Grimby, 1998, p. 70).…”

Socially Distanced: An Exploratory Study of the Relationships Between Delusional Ideation and Social Imagery Under the Lens of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Felt presence (FP) is a common sensation of being observed, intruded upon, or otherwise not alone when there is no sensory evidence of others' presence or when the environment is saturated with ambiguous stimuli, including dark spaces [18,19]. Though FP experiences are thought to be a result of normal social imagery, or in the context of religious or spiritual practice [20,21], FP may also be elicited through extreme environments and stress, including sensory deprivation [12,22] or can arise spontaneously in context of bereavement [23].…”