Introduction

Because increasing age is typically accompanied by the loss of important social relationships, the study of coping with loss is particularly relevant for understanding successful aging. Moreover, loss of a spouse is generally considered to be one of the most serious threats to health, well-being, and productivity during the middle and later years (see Clayton, 1979; Osterweis, Solomon, & Green, 1984; M. Stroebe & W. Stroebe, 1983; W. Stroebe & M. Stroebe, 1987; and Vachon, 1976, for reviews). In the United States alone, approximately 800,000 people are widowed each year (Osterweis et al., 1984). In fact, there are presently more than 10 million widows and 3 million widowers in the United States, and the number of bereaved continues to increase (Ball, 1976–1977). The period of widowhood is often lengthy, particularly for women. Only one quarter of widows remarry within 5 years of the loss of their spouse, and the average woman remains widowed for the rest of her life, typically about 19.5 years (Carter & Glick, 1976).

Successful mastery of this major transition is an important feature of the aging experience. The marital pair may have such closely interwoven lives that the loss of one partner may cut across the very meaning of the other's existence (Raphael, 1983). Widowhood is associated with higher mortality for both sexes, although the excess risk is much greater for men, especially during the first 6 months of bereavement (M. Stroebe & W. Stroebe, 1983; W. Stroebe & M. Stroebe, 1987).