[Sociological aspects of widowhood]

The process to become a widow or a widower and the analysis of the social situation of widowed persons is getting an increasing attention in gerontology. Of special concern are older widows, who have quite a time to live. Hereby are their situation within their family-life cycle and the event of the spouse's death especially analyzed. The overtaking of the role as a widow is much dependent of capacities which are learned in an earlier life span. Many widows have problems in newly learning role elements which are traditional dominated by men. Concerning loneliness and social contacts of older widows, different studies show only few widows much lonely and an only small reduction of social contacts after becoming a widow.