Investigating the predictors of resilience in individuals who lost a loved one

This research examined the predictors of resilience in relation to difficulties in emotion regulation, psychological inflexibility, perceived social support, age, and characteristics of loss (e.g., the number of people individuals lost, seeking professional support, the closeness of the lost person, the type of death, and relationship quality with the lost one) among individuals in Türkiye who lost a loved one in the past two years. The study was carried out with 333 individuals (n=227, 68.2% female; n=103, 30.9% male; n=3, 0.9% others) aged between 18-57 years (M=28.6, SD = 7.6). The Demographic Information Form, The Brief Resilience Scale, The Brief Version of Difficulties in Emotion Regulation, The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire were filled out by the participants. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to analyze data via SPSS 29. Results indicated that difficulties in emotion regulation, psychological inflexibility, perceived social support, age, the number of people individuals lost, seeking professional support significantly predicted resilience in individuals who lost a loved one. Difficulties in emotion regulation and psychological inflexibility were the strongest and negative predictors of resilience. The findings and recommendations were discussed in the light of the literature.