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Summary This paper is a replication and extension of Carey's study of morale as an aspect of the “adjustment” of the widowed. It focuses on populations underrepresented in previous studies of widows' adjustment—namely, young widows of working-class status—and assesses effects of several independent variables not included in the earlier study. Respondents were 44 widows bereaved in the Sunshine Mine fire of 1972, along with two comparison samples of the nonwidowed (N = 178). The data were collected by interview. Results highlight the role of education and income as predictors of high morale. Organization affiliations, friendship ties, and church activity also had positive effects upon widows' morale, but their effects were not so dramatic as those of education and income. Predictors of high morale among the widows differed from those for the nonwidowed. Results suggest that widows with little education and low incomes need special attention from counselors, for their adjustment to widowhood is not “buffered” by the positive effects of education and sufficient income. Empirical support is also provided for the salutary effects of church participation and activity in community organizations.
Bahr et al. (Tue,) studied this question.