title: Wearing the garment of widowhood: variations in time since spousal loss among community-dwelling older adults.
abstract: We examine how the passage of time since spousal loss varies by social and demographic characteristics, using data from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging. In multivariate analyses, African American race, female sex, lower income, and higher risk of social isolation had significant and independent associations with variation in time since spousal loss. African American women were at highest risk for long-term widowhood. Accurate characterizations of widowhood among community-dwelling older adults must consider variation in the length of time individuals are living as widowed persons and socioeconomic concomitants of long-term widowhood.
authors.affiliation: The Birmingham/Atlanta VA Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA. Beverly.williams3@va.gov
authors.forename: Beverly Rosa
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sawyer
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Allman
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000407:Alabama; D001601:Bereavement; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D044465:White People; D017805:Widowhood / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*