Reduction in leisure activity and well-being during the transition to widowhood.
There is relatively little evidence available about how leisure involvement changes with the death of a spouse and even less about how leisure activity is associated with the health and well-being of widows during this transition. Using data from the Americans Changing Lives (ACL) dataset, this study of 154 widows investigated change in leisure involvement during the transition to widowhood and examined the relationship between leisure activity reduction and widows' well-being. Results indicated a majority of widows reduced their involvement in leisure activity. Path models revealed that depressive symptoms and recovery from spousal loss were predictors of activity reduction, providing more support for the causal relationship of well-being influencing activity involvement than for activity influencing well-being.
Janke
Megan C
MC
Department of Recreation, Sports, and Tourism, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA. mjanke@uiuc.edu
Nimrod
Galit
G
Kleiber
Douglas A
DA
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003863:Depression / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities / Q000523:psychology*; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017805:Widowhood / Q000523:psychology*