The Effects of Widowhood on Disabled Older Women

This study examined the combined effects of being disabled and becoming widowed for older women. Data from three consecutive interviews from the Women's Health and Aging Study (WHAS) were used to compare depression, quality of life, and functional difficulty for widowed and non-widowed women. The two groups of 24 women were matched by disability level, domains of disability, and race. Repeated measures of analyses of variance (ANOVAs) revealed that for both groups depression scores were low and remained relatively stable and they were satisfied with their quality of life at all three time points with no significant group by time interaction effects. The two groups differed on their level of functional difficulty by Time 3 (6-12 months bereavement) with the widows reporting slightly less difficulty. Overall, the findings show that disabled women who became widows demonstrated a noticeable degree of resiliency and hardiness.