Coping and widowhood in the older adulthood: Mixed methods study in Colombian population

Abstract

Widowhood is cataloged as one of the most stressful adverse life events; the change of civil status generates a change of role and implies a resignification of life. The aim of this study was to understand how older people experience and cope with widowhood. The research used mixed methods approach with a QUALI-quanti design, through grounded theory and log lineal analysis, with a sample of 29 elderly widows and widowers living in Bogota. This study reports the psychological responses of a group of elderly widows that facilitate successful coping with the loss of the couple, and the responses that make it difficult. The results in the qualitative stage showed that coping with widowhood is framed in seven factors: sense of life, social support, previous relationship, satisfaction with marriage, participation in activities, consequences generated by the loss and personal strengths. In the quantitative stage a significant interaction between psychological response and coping was found, which revealed that some psychological responses in particular lead to an active coping or, on the contrary, made coping difficult. The answers that were significant were isolation, loneliness, moving forward and participation in activities. The results revealed that coping is a product of the interactions between macro and micro systems and showed widowhood as a multifaceted transition. Similarities with previous studies and limitations are discussed.