When talking helps: A quantitative study of privacy and resilience after bereavement

Using the theoretical framework of Communication Privacy Management, this study sought to determine how trait resilience, state hopefulness, distress disclosure, use of social networks, and boundary turbulence relate to bereaved spouses' life satisfaction. Bereaved spouses (N=149) completed questionnaires at Camp Widow, a weekend-long conference for bereaved spouses held in San Diego, from August 12-14, 2011. Participants were single, engaged or remarried. The average age of the participants is 46.24 years. The average age at time of bereavement reported was 43.71 years. The amount of time that had passed since the death of their spouse was 2.83 years, and the average time participants reported being married was 17.7 years. The percentage of participants who reported having children at the time of their spouse's death was 83.67%. Only 6% of participants were remarried at the time of the study. The average annual income reported by participants was ;Keywords: communication privacy management, bereaved, resilience, boundary turbulence, hope, social support.