A comparison of psychosocial characteristics of new widowers and married men

Bereavement is a stressful event for men, yet there are few studies that help explain the important psychological and social factors that may interfere with or facilitate the grieving process in men. The purpose of this study is to describe some of these factors in new widowers and to compare them with those in married men. A community sample of 113 widowers bereaved less than 12 months and a family practice clinic sample of 111 married men matched for age were compared on five psychological and social measures (General Health Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, State-Anxiety Inventory, Social Adjustment Scale, and Social Support Questionnaire). The results indicate significantly more distress in the widowers than in the married men. Highly distressed widowers had more problems with work outside the home, housework, and spare time, and they were younger and less satisfied with their social support than less distressed widowers. Widowers younger than 65 years were significantly more depressed and anxious, and had more social adjustment problems than widowers older than 65. These findings may be useful for longitudinal or intervention studies of widowers and may be of value for primary health care providers.