Widows and Divorcees in Later Life

Get a fresh perspective on how older women adapt to life without a spouse!

Widows and Divorcees in Later Life: On Their Own Again examines new perspectives on the problems older women face adjusting to life without a spouse. The book examines the transition from the togetherness of marriage to the solitude of being suddenly single, exploring how older widows and divorcees adapt. A multidisciplinary panel of practitioners, researchers, and academics addresses the challenges facing elderly women after a divorce or the death of a spouse, including issues of physical and psychological well-being (clinical depression, nutrition), economics (reduced Social Security benefits, loss of pension income, health care costs), social support (public policy, counseling), and living arrangements.

Widows and Divorcees in Later Life: On Their Own Again presents fresh insights into the challenges single women face as they age, including disability and chronic health problems, threats to economic security, and the need for assistance with normal activities of daily living. The book examines the increased hospitalization risk for widowed older women, the protective efforts of social contacts, the impact of minority group status on projected retirement income, care arrangement choices, coping with bereavement, and the changing balance between co-residence with families and institutional care. Interviews, data projections, and research studies offer particular focus on women of Mexican-American and African-American descent, and women living in England and Wales, Africa, and the north and south Pacific.

Widows and Divorcees in Later Life: On Their Own Again addresses:

• the importance of family support
• the importance of religion and spirituality in coping with loss
• maintaining social connections
• maintaining independence
• the baby boom cohort
• and much more!

Widows and Divorcees in Later Life: On Their Own Again is an insightful examination of the concerns, issues, and problems facing older women who live without a spouse but within specific social and cultural networks from which they receive support.