Skip to main content icon/video/no-internet
icon backReturn to Entries

Widow, Widower

The term widow is given to a woman whose spouse has died. The term widower is applied to a man whose marital partner has died. Widowhood is a broader term used to describe the state of being a widow or widower. This entry discusses what widowhood is and how widows and widowers cope with the changes that come with this life transition.

Widowhood as a Marital Status and Event

Widowhood describes both a marital status and a marital event. As a marital status, widowhood is similar to both divorce and never married in that it describes a state of being unmarried. As a marital event, it is similar to divorce in that it represents the dissolution or end of a marital relation. However, in contrast to divorce, when one or both marital partners initiate the dissolution of the marital relation, widowhood occurs when one partner in the marriage dies. Becoming a widow or widower may come unexpectedly in the event of the spouse’s sudden or unanticipated death, or it may come after a period of the spouse’s sustained illness or chronic decline. In the latter case, widowhood typically occurs in older ages and was likely preceded by a period of caregiving, where the spouse may have provided unpaid assistance and support to address the emotional, instrumental, and health-care needs of the dying spouse. Given that deaths in the modern era are mostly attributable to chronic conditions such as heart disease and cancer and occur during older ages than in former times, it is more common for widowhood to occur after a period of illness and among older adults.

Recent statistics from the U. S. Census Bureau estimate that approximately 14 million people, or 6% of the U.S adult population, are widowed. Among those, approximately two thirds of widows and widowers are over the age of 65, suggesting that widowhood is primarily associated with older ages. This age pattern reflects the fact that death is a relatively uncommon event during the earlier stages of life, especially in a developed country like the United States. Widowhood is also more common among women than it is among men: For every 1,000 persons in the United States, it is estimated that approximately 3.5 instances of widowhood occur among men in a given year compared to 7.8 instances of widowhood among females. This gender difference results in about 13% of the older male population and 40% of the older female population being widowed. Sex differences in the prevalence of widowhood are attributable to sociodemographic trends related to men marrying women younger than themselves and men having lower life expectancies than women.

Grief and Bereavement

Despite the common frequency of widowhood across the population, becoming a widow or widower is considered among the most distressing of all life transitions to endure. Widowhood requires that the surviving spouse cope with the loss of an intimate partner as well as learn to manage all the tasks of daily life without the support and assistance of their spouse. This period of adjustment that follows widowhood is called bereavement.

...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles

Read next

More like this

Sage Recommends

We found other relevant content for you on other Sage platforms.

close

Have you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches

close
close
close Signed In to profile You are signed in as:
close
Logged in Institution Institution