WIDOWED MEN AND WOMEN - AN EXPLORATORY-ST UDY OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WIDOWHOOD AND COPING STRATEGIES

The purpose of this exploratory study was to develop, based on the eth nographic method, a research approach aimed at understanding the exper ience of widowhood as well as the coping strategies used by elderly me n and women facing this experience. Ethnographic interviews were condu cted at informants' homes, using a semi-structured format developed fr om a conceptual framework based on a stress and coping model. Intervie ws were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were coded by two independent raters according to the study's conceptual framework and categories generated from the data. Results illustrate that personal f actors such as biographical history, centrality of the spouse in perso nal life and self-efficacy influence the meanings of widowhood and the use of coping strategies; also, contextual factors, namely normative standards and cultural values, seem to have a differential influence o n the meanings of widowhood and the coping strategies of widows and wi dowers. As a coping strategy, seeking social support is related to qua litative characteristics of social resources, more specifically recipr ocity and reliability. The research approach developed in this project provides a means to better understand the contextual factors which mi ght explain the great variability of mental health responses of elderl y widows and widowers as well as elderly's responses to other stressor s in their daily life.