WIDOWHOOD AND DEPRESSION - GENDER DIFFERENCES

Hypotheses predicting why widowhood should be more difficult psycholog ically for men than women are tested on a sample of 746 older persons. Widowhood does have a stronger effect on depression for men, partly b ecause of the intervening effects of health and time since widowhood. However, much of the gender difference remains unexplained. Possible c auses, including the fact that widowhood is a more usual component of the life cycle for women, are discussed.