Resilient Widowers

by MOORE, ALINDE J.STRATTON, DOROTHY C.

• ISBN13: 9781591020820
• ISBN10: 1591020824
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2003-06-01
• Publisher: Prometheus Books

Summary

Based on an intensive qualitative study of a diverse group of 51 older widowers, this unique book sets widowhood within the context of life experience and identifies characteristics and patterns of behaviour that contribute to widowers' success, or lack of it, in adjusting satisfactorily to their circumstances. The authors shed light on widowers' specific needs and on the services needed to help widowers develop greater self-reliance. Among the topics discussed are models of resilience, marriage and illness of the spouse, caregiving and communication, death of the wife, grief and adjustment, living alone and remarriage, life values carried forward, adult children and other social support, and cohorts and the future. The authors conclude with a consideration of trends that may influence the next generation's experience of widowhood. This excellent volume offers expert guidance on the needs and care of the nearly invisible population of older widowers.

Author Biography

Alinde J. Moore, Ph.D. is chair and associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Ashland University in Ohio. She helped found the local hospice, has served on the local hospice and state hospice board, and continues to train hospice volunteers Dorothy Stratton, MSW is chair of the Department of Social Work at Ashland University and a past president of the Ohio College Association of Social Work Educators

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Studying Resilience in Widowers	1	(9)
Models of Resilience	10	(9)
What Was Lost: Wives and Marriages	19	(12)
Illness and Death of Wife	31	(17)
Caregiving and Communication	48	(23)
Saying Goodbye	71	(10)
Grief and Adjustment	81	(30)
Living Alone	111	(22)
Remarriage	133	(22)
Life Values Carried Forward	155	(21)
Adult Children and Other Social Support	176	(27)
Cohorts and the Future	203	(16)
Appendix A: Methodology	219	(6)
Appendix B: Interview Topics	225	(2)
Appendix C: Respondents and Characteristics	227	(6)
Subject Index	233	(9)
Author Index	242