Who Dies after Widow(Er)Hood? A Discriminant Analysis

Datos Bibliográficos

ID13628189
AutoresAnn Bowling (0000-0002-4030-6579, Institute for Social Studies in Medical Care, London, NW3, autor de correspondencia)
Año1989
Volumen19
Número2
Páginas135-153
Fecha de publicación1989-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2190/j9pn-av0j-90vt-bfvj
OpenAlexW1990996528
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14
Referencias citadas31

A random sample of 503 elderly widowed people was flagged by the British Office of Population Censuses and Surveys for six years after their bereavement. Excess mortality after widow(er)hood was found for males aged seventy-five and over, in comparison with males of the same ages in the general population. Bivariate analyses showed a relationship between social, demographic, psychological, and some physiologically related variables (e.g., medication taking) and mortality. Multivariate analysis showed that the most powerful discriminating variables, independently associated with mortality, were: age seventy-five plus, a low happiness rating by interviewers, social class I and II, male sex, and having no one to telephone. It appears that those in older age groups and males may be more vulnerable after bereavement; it is also possible that certain social contact and a happier disposition may have modifying effects on the stress of bereavement and risk factors associated with subsequent mortality

Bivariate analysis · Happiness · Marital status · Multivariate analysis · Population · Social class · Sociology · Statistics · Demography · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Health disparities and outcomes · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Social Psychology · Gerontology