Resources and characteristics of elderly women who live alone

This article is a report of findings from a longitudinal descriptive study of 15 women age 76 to 92 who were living alone in the community. Data collection began in 1983. Two survivors were still living alone in 1997. The naturalistic inquiry paradigm guided data collection and analysis (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). Data were collected during repeated audio-taped "conversations" with each woman. Individual "chunks" of data were labeled, sorted, and organized into categories. The 15 categories that evolved from the data were then grouped as resources and characteristics. The prevailing theme was "independence." A woman's value system was a mediator that influenced her ability to continue living alone.