Abstract Memories from the very end of the life of a deceased spouse (i.e., their dying days) are frequently carried with the bereaved as major markers in their own life stories. The current study identifies functions of these memories. Older adults (age 70-96; N = 53) told two memories from their spouse’s dying days, then self-rated them for serving directive, social-bonding and self-continuity functions (TALE; Bluck & Alea, 2011). Those who found their loss more incomprehensible (ISLES; Holland, 2015) reported using these memories for directive (i.e., guidance of behaviors) and self-continuity (i.e., maintenance of a sense of self) functions more frequently (ps 0.05). This relation was, however, mediated by older adults’ current grief (ICG; Prigerson et al., 1995). Incomprehensibility of the loss of a spouse appears to lead to intense grieving, prompting individuals to draw on memories from the loss to maintain a sense of self and direct their future.
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机译：从死者配偶的生命结束的摘要回忆（即，他们的垂死日）经常与他们自己的生活故事中的主要标记一起携带。目前的研究确定了这些记忆的函数。年龄较大的成年人（70-96岁; N = 53）告诉两个回忆的配偶的垂死日，然后自我评估了他们服务指令，社会粘合和自我连续性函数（故事; Bluck＆Alea，2011）。那些发现他们的损失更难以理解的人（群岛;荷兰，2015）报告使用这些记忆进行指令（即行为指导）和自连续性（即，自我维持自我的维护）更频繁（PS <0.05）。然而，这一关系由老年人的当前悲伤（ICG; Prigerson等，1995）介导。难以理解的配偶丢失似乎导致强烈的悲伤，促使个人从损失中汲取回忆，以保持自我意识和引导他们的未来。
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