Saturday, 15 January 2005 - 2:00 PM

This presentation is part of: Social Factors in Aging

Patterns and Determinants of Older Adults’ Informal Social Integration after Spousal Loss

Purpose. Widowhood is one of the most stressful life events in old age. Upon widowhood, surviving spouses lose a long-held role as a spouse and must reorganize existing social relationships for emotional and instrumental support. How successfully bereaved spouses reintegrate into their social networks following spousal loss may have important implications for their well-being. While much research has examined the benefits of social support for widowed older adults, little is known about the factors that create variability in older adults’ social integration following widowhood. Using the Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC) model as a theoretical framework, this paper (1) examines the extent to which widowhood affects older adults’ informal social integration and (2) explores the socioeconomic, health, and relationship-based factors that create variability in widowed older adults’ informal social integration.

Methods. Analyses are based on data from the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC), a prospective study of 1,532 married individuals aged 65 and older. The analytic sample for this paper includes 297 individuals (211 widowed persons and 86 married persons) who participated in the first two waves of the data. Using logistic regression models, the paper examines the extent to which widowhood affects older adults’ social engagement, and the extent to which gender, socioeconomic status, changes in functional and mental health, and support from adult children predict changes in widowed older adults’ social relationships (e.g., development of new relationships, contact with friends).

Results. Results show that compared to still-married persons, widowed persons are less likely to have emotionally close relationships. Among widowed older adults, age, educational attainment, functional health, and positive support from children are important predictors of social integration. As age increases, older adults become less likely to develop new social relationships. On the other hand, those with higher levels of education and those who maintained their pre-widowhood levels of functional health following widowhood are more likely to develop new emotionally close relationships and have more frequent contact with friends and relatives. Support from children also helps older adults better integrate into social networks after spousal loss.

Implications. The findings suggest that one’s socioeconomic status, health status, and interpersonal resources are significant factors influencing one’s social adaptation after spousal loss. Given that spousal loss often brings detrimental consequences to older adults’ financial and health status, it is imperative that practitioners pay more attention to these factors as constraints to one’s access to social networks. The finding that a decline in functional health is a major hurdle to widowed older adults’ social engagement suggests that the effectiveness of social services may be enhanced if they are coordinated with health services or transportation services.

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