Emotional problems and widowhood

In 1979, 1,144 married women between the ages of 65 and 75 were interviewed about their health and social support networks. During the next two-and-a-half years, 150 of them were widowed; 128 were interviewed six months after bereavement. Among the 115 women who had denied needing help for an emotional problem at the initial interview, 25 admitted the need for such help after the deaths of their husbands. Predictive factors for needing emotional counseling six months after bereavement were recent disability, having few friends, and not feeling close to one's children.