Health, social functioning, and marital status: Stability and change among elderly recently widowed women

Four‐year changes in mental and physical health, morale and social functioning were assessed in a random sample of elderly women widowed during the course of a longitudinal study, together with never‐married and still‐married controls. All groups showed an age‐related decline in mental and physical health, with the widows, the never‐married, and the still‐married displaying differing patterns of psychological change over time. However, while widows showed significantly greater changes in morale and personal disturbance, their levels of social functioning remained stable over the four‐year period. The results confirm earlier findings of lifestyle stability after the loss of a spouse and indicate that, in addition to bereavement per se , single status and ageing itself may contribute substantially to the measured longitudinal effects of widowhood.