Aging is a function of many factors. The factors could be biological, psychological, social, or political. The work here below examines adulthood and aging from a widow or widower’s point of view. Having been faced with a loss of a partner, a widow/widower is likely to undergo critical emotional challenges. This paper tries to look at what could be the possible consequences.
A widow is a woman who has lost her husband by death and has not married again. While a widower is a man who has lost his wife by death and has not married again. A syndrome is a group of concurrent symptoms of a disease. Due to the loss of a partner, the lives of widows and widowers in most cases are characterized by grief and stress which often lead to depression. Depression has its own consequences such as impairment of the immune system thus increasing susceptibility to disease and dangerous behaviors such as excessive drinking of alcohol. The emotional disappointments coupled with emerging disease symptoms is what is termed as widow/widowers’ syndrome.
There is a street argument that goes like if a 70-year-old man dies, his wife is likely to die sooner than she would if the old husband lived. According to the information posted on the site www.impactlab.com there is a correlation between mortality and loss of a spouse.
According to the information on the site, studies have been carried out to compare the death rate for a group of widows/widowers to that of a control group. Generally, the ratio of the two is about 1 to 1.4, that is to say, 140 widowed persons die compared to 100 non-widowed. According to the researchers, widows/widowers exhibit what actuarial scientists term as “excess mortality”. Death rates are said to be highest within 6 months after bereavement and continue being high for about three years. Bereavement (as a result of loss of spouse) has shown to produce higher mortality among widowers than widows and among young than older ages. Social-economic factors do not seem to matter. Experts owe that to the widow/widowers’ syndrome. The death of one spouse affects the other spouse’s life.
The mortality risk has been observed to be higher in widows/widowers under 55 years especially when the loss is sudden. For widows/widowers in the age range of 50 to65 years, the risk is higher when the spouse has died of chronic illness. Also according to the site, mortality risk is lower when the widow/widower has a family or other social support and higher when the bereaved is socially isolated.
The book (Social Gerontology: A multidisciplinary perspective) examines the biological, psychological, social, and political factors that influence older people’s lives. It is divided into 5 parts. Part one is mainly a general introduction to the field of gerontology; part two addresses physiological changes that influence social aging. Part three discusses the psychological context of aging that includes normal and disease-related changes in cognitive functioning (learning, intelligence, and memory). Part four explores social issues of aging and part 5 goes beyond the individual’s social context to address societal perspectives.
It is in part four where widowhood is captured. Part four could be useful in addressing the concept of widow and widower’s syndrome. The material on the internet site is useful but lacks enough background on the whole topic. The book based on provided chapter especially without part four is not elaborative about the research topic but it is excellent for a general understanding of aging. The overall learning can be the need to give social support to widows and widowers. Their lives can be greatly enhanced if supported or cared for.