La cama como potencial desencadenante de malestar ante la pérdida de la pareja: un estudio exploratorio de respuestas anticipadas y experiencia de duelo

Background/Objectives: Partner loss may involve changes in everyday spaces, objects, and routines associated with the relationship and may generate distress. Among these elements, the shared bed has received limited empirical attention. This study explored potential distress associated with the bed and its relationship with other objects and situations linked to partner loss. Method: A cross-sectional design was used with 174 participants: 22 had experienced the death of their partner, 137 had not, and 15 did not answer this question. A ten-item questionnaire assessed potential distress associated with different objects and situations related to partner loss. Repeated-measures analyses, Spearman correlations, and exploratory factor analyses were conducted. Results: Significant differences were observed among the stimuli. The bed had a mean score of 7.26 and ranked fifth according to the descriptive means. Potential distress associated with the bed was positively correlated with all other stimuli (ρ = .453–.745). Factor analyses provided preliminary evidence of an essentially unidimensional structure and high internal consistency. Participants who had experienced the death of their partner reported lower levels of total potential distress and bed-related distress. Conclusions: The shared bed represents a potentially relevant stimulus among those assessed. However, most participants had not experienced the death of their partner; therefore, a substantial proportion of the responses were hypothetical. The findings are preliminary and require replication in samples of people bereaved by the loss of a partner.