BACKGROUND Previous research has demonstrated health benefits of marriage and the potential for worse outcomes during widowhood in some populations. However, few studies have assessed the relevance of widowhood and widowhood duration to a variety of health-related outcomes and chronic diseases among older adults in India, and even fewer have examined these relationships stratified by gender. ...

by Purvi Sevak, David R. Weir, and Robert J. Willis Despite increased labor force participation rates among women and reforms under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, widowhood remains an important risk factor for transition into poverty, although somewhat less so than 20 years ago. Women widowed at younger ages are at greatest risk for economic hardship after widowhood, and their sit...

The effect of death of a spouse on the mortality of the survivor (the "widowhood effect") is well-established. We investigated how the effect of widowhood on mortality depends on the neighborhood concentration of widowed individuals in the United States. We developed a large, nationally representative, and longitudinal dataset from Medicare claims and other data sources characterizing 200,000 e...

The appropriateness of the stress-coping and life transitions models for late life experiences was assessed by examining psychosocial correlates of spouse caregiving in association with widowhood. Data were from the Health Status of Older People (HSOP) survey of 1,000 people aged 65 and over living in the community in Melbourne, Australia. Caregiving was found to be a usual precursor to widowho...

OBJECTIVES To document short- and long-term trajectories of depressive symptoms following widowhood and to test whether these trajectories vary by gender and anticipatory spousal loss. METHOD Eight waves of prospective panel data from the Health and Retirement Study, over a 14-year period, are used to evaluate gender differences in depressive symptoms following widowhood in late midlife. Shor...

OBJECTIVES This study documented the stronger adverse effect of widowhood on the psychological well-being of men than that of women and explained why this gender difference in the effect of widowhood exists. METHODS Data came from Wave 1 of the National Survey of Families and Households. Married and widowed people aged 65 and older were selected (n = 1,686). The dependent variable was the Cen...

This study examines (a) whether widowhood affects the performance of daily household activities, (b) the extent to which dependence on children mediates the effect of widowhood on subsequent housework performance, and (c) the extent to which these patterns vary by gender. Using the Changing Lives of Older Couples study, a prospective survey of married persons age 65 and older, we find that late...

PURPOSE Widowhood eliminates a key source of support that may trigger greater involvement in social activities and volunteer participation, which are related to better late-life health and functioning. We reexamine and build upon 2 recent studies exploring recent widowhood and social participation. Using different data, we perform a quasi-replication of Utz, Carr, Nesse, and Wortman's (2002; "T...

Bereavement in late life amongst women is a high-probability life event. Although several studies have examined the relative short-term effects (e.g. up to 12 months postbereavement), research into the longer-term psychological effects of widowhood amongst this group has not been extensive. This paper aims to examine the research into the mediumand long-term effects of widowhood. It will also a...

Thousands of the widows of all ages in rural Bangladesh endure extreme poverty, ostracism, violence, homelessness, ill health and discrimination in law and custom. A lack of inheritance and land rights, widow abuse and the rules of remarriage practices of widows are prime examples of human rights violations. In this article, an attempt has been made to provide a socio-economic status for widowh...