Management of challenges of conjugal loss among Chinese widowers: an exploratory study

This study presents an exploration of significant coping strategies for Chinese widowers' healthy adjustment to conjugal loss. The informants, 17 Chinese widowers, were asked to share strategies they have adopted to achieve healthy adjustment to spousal loss. The results reveal that loss-orientation coping, consisting of: 1) emotion-focused coping; 2) social coping; and 3) meaning-focused coping, was the key strategy in dealing with challenges posed by the past. Restoration-orientation coping, consisting of: 1) problem-focused coping; 2) social coping; 3) future-focused coping and 4) meaning-focused coping; was the key to managing challenges posed by present and future needs. It is hoped that insights from this study will inform social workers' practice with Chinese widowers experiencing poor adjustment to conjugal loss.