Managing widowhood in later life: The challenges encountered

Abstract

Background/aim Widowhood in later life is a transition experienced by many older people, particularly older women. This paper explores the challenges encountered by a group of older women experiencing the loss of a spouse or partner. Methods The data is drawn from a longitudinal study exploring the significance of personal communities in managing the transition of later life widowhood. A series of qualitative interviews were conducted with 26 older widows (62–90 years of age) over a period of 18 months. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. Results This paper presents a number of themes from the women's accounts of their Christmas celebrations and their Christmas cards, which illustrate the challenges to managing widowhood in later life. Themes included: family friction, dependence, additional losses, over commitment, passivity and feeling different. Conclusion The findings reveal that Christmas can be an isolating and excluding experience for some older women, and that widowhood can be compounded by age-related illness, and the loss of social relationships and roles in later life. The research has a number of implications for practice with older women who are widows.

‘It pushed me back into the human race’: evaluative findings from a community Christmas event

“…The reciprocal nature of the event is also evident in the accounts of the volunteers who described a more ‘meaningful’ experience of Christmas which enhanced their feelings of life satisfaction in addition to the guests (Van Willigen ). Similarly, some of the younger volunteers described feelings of loneliness and social exclusion at this time of year in addition to the older guests who attended (Collins ; Shankar et al . , Campaign to End Loneliness, n.d.).…”

“…). Social isolation may be experienced by older people over the Christmas period due to factors such as the geographic dispersion of kin, friction between family members, financial strain and limited physical mobility (Collins ).…”

“…Many older people experience multiple and parallel transitions associated with ageing and the life course, such as chronic illness and the loss of relationships and roles, which may limit their opportunities to engage in activities with others (Bernard et al 2004). Social isolation may be experienced by older people over the Christmas period due to factors such as the geographic dispersion of kin, friction between family members, financial strain and limited physical mobility (Collins 2014a).…”

“…The Royal Voluntary Service (RVS ) reports that many older people are likely to be alone over the Christmas period. This social exclusion may intensify feelings of loss and loneliness in later life (Collins ), and be detrimental to health and well‐being (Shankar et al . ; Campaign to End Loneliness, n.d.).…”

The personal communities of men experiencing later life widowhood

“…Later life transitions such as widowhood can have a negative effect on well‐being (Collins, ; ILC‐UK, ). Many older widows and widowers are often in poor health themselves (Hirst & Corden, ), particularly if they have been caregivers (DiGiacomo, Lewis, Nolan, Phillips, & Davidson, ), necessitating the use of health and social care services (Beaumont, ).…”