Widowhood, Social Participation and Life Satisfaction

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Abstract
The study is an analysis of the relation between widowhood, social participation and life satisfaction as measured by the Havighurst Life Satisfaction Scale-Form A. The study compared the level of participation and LSIA scores of married and widowed males and females residing in sixty-one small towns of Missouri in 1966. Females were found to be more activity oriented than males, whether with children, relatives, friends or in formal organizations. There were no changes in activity patterns after widowhood among females. Males show a linear decline in most types of participation with length of widowhood. Association with friends appears to be more closely associated with LSIA score than is association with children and relatives. Participation in formal groups, primarily the church, correlated more closely with LSIA scores than does either participation with family or friends. Widowhood produces a more drastic change in life style and in satisfaction of small town elderly males than it does for females.

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