Widowhood as a Life Transition: Its Impact on Kinship Ties

This paper explores the impact that marital status has upon the primary kinship ties of older women. Interview data obtained from 132 older women reveal that there is some continuity in family life for women in the later stages of the life cycle inasmuch as ties with children, which are based largely on obligation, are not much affected by widowhood. However, relationships that are based more on mutual interest in the other's well-being, such as those with siblings and extended kin, are affected by the death of one's spouse.