Resilient Widowers: Older Men Speak For Themselves

by Alinde Moore PhD, Dorothy Stratton MSW, ACSW

Overview

ìThis is a most impressive work on a much needed and neglected area of older men who lost their spouses. Moore and Stratton listened to what these men had to say and presented us with such a rich mosaic of feelings, experiences, and hypotheses for future research.î
- Leonard Poon, PhD, Dr Phil hc
Professor of Psychology
Chair, Faculty of Gerontology
Director, University of Georgia Gerontology Center

Based on the authors' intensive qualitative study of a diverse group of 51 widowers, this unique book sets widowhood within the context of life experience. It identifies characteristics and patterns of behavior that contribute to widowerís success, as well as lack of success, in adjusting satisfactorily to their circumstances.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826114761
Publisher:	Springer Publishing Company
Publication date:	11/07/2001
Series:	Springer Series: Focus on Men
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Alinde Moore is chair and associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Ashland University.

Dorothy Stratton is chair of the Department of Social Work at Ashland University.

Table of Contents

Dedication
Acknowledgments
Preface

1. Studying Resilience in Widowers
2. Models of Resilience
3. What Was Lost: Wives and Marriages
4. Illness and Death of Wife
5. Caregiving and Communication
6. Saying Good-bye
7. Grief and Adjustment
8. Living Alone
9. Remarriage
10. Life Values Carried Forward
11. Adult Children and Other Social Support
12. Cohorts and the Future

Appenix A: Methodology
Appendix B: Interview Topics
Appendix C: Respondents and Characteristics
Index

Editorial Reviews

This study of 51 widowers (from 58 to 104 years old) is the result of a five-year study by two Ashland University professors, Moore (psychology) and Stratton (social work), who noticed the lack of research on widowers. Research is lacking, say the authors, because the common notion is that widowers either remarry or conversely, become depressed, even commit suicide, because they cannot care for themselves. These notions are now more complicated as a result of this study, which addresses topics like grief and adjustment, living alone, remarriage, adult children and other social support, and cohorts and the future. The authors noticed that almost every man in their study had a woman in his life who helped him—usually a daughter, a daughter-in-law or a neighbor. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)