Family In Later Life Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Family In Later Life Research Paper - Essay Example Widowhood in the later life leaves the surviving spouse to undergo a normal process from grief to acceptance; the challenges associated with widowhood are likely to open new opportunities for increasing and maintaining social relationships. Widows/Widowers and the Efforts of Overcoming Grief Widows are generally associated with â€Å"isolation, loss and vulnerability† (Walker, 1993, p. 34), especially the post feminism era. With the women almost completely dependent on men, widowhood seems to be the worst thing that can happen to a woman, especially in the presence of young children. However, the changing views of women’s roles in the contemporary society made widowhood less burdensome for the surviving spouse, but contemporary views do not spare widows in the process to acceptance. The first challenge for a widow is coping with grief, where older people are seen to cope better than their younger counterparts (Bryant, 2003). According to Balkwell (1981), there seems to have a reaction pattern following a spouse’s death where initially, surviving partners undergo â€Å"shock or bewilderment...and may refuse to believe that the spouse is dead† (p. 120). ... Bureau of Census (1993) indicated that 80% of women between the ages 65 and 75 are already widowed compared to 39% of widowers in the same age bracket (as cited in Bryant, 2003). The issue of sex or gender related to acceptance of death seems to receive contradictory comments from psychologist through the years. Kail and Cavanaugh (2008) stated that men generally have problems with social relationships after the death of the spouse. Moreover, they were seen to be â€Å"more vulnerable† than women because (1) they are the ones who would initiate dating, â€Å"which is awkward after being married;† (2) retirement and the loss of contact from workmates; (3) there are less widowers in whom they can relate to; and (4) they lack familiarity with the things women do such as house hold chores (Balkwell, 1989, p. 120). On the other hand, women are perceived to be more efficient in coping with widowhood, but it depends on the kind of coping mechanism she uses. Lopata (1973) label ed three types of widows: the modern woman, the lower class urbanite, and the social isolate (as cited in Chambers, 2005). Each of the three types possesses unique qualities in which Lopata (1973) based their names. The modern woman would have to be the most familiar, where the widow is generally passive but is â€Å"willing to re-engage.† Such characteristic is also evident for women who belong to the lower class urbanite only that they generally seek emotional counsel to family and friends, and not from outside peers such as at work. These qualities are the opposite to what â€Å"social isolates† have. As the term suggests, women belonging to this category do not engage with socialization and basically are withdrawn even to people whom they have closer connections (Chambers, 2005, pp. 27-28). In contrast