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Support Systems of American Urban Widowhood
Author(s) -
Lopata Helena Znaniecka
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1988.tb02080.x
Subject(s) - grief , period (music) , social support , psychology , developmental psychology , gerontology , social psychology , psychotherapist , medicine , art , aesthetics
The life a woman develops in marriage becomes more or less disorganized with the death of her husband. Many characteristics of a society, a community, and a woman influence the degree of disorganization of her life with the death of her husband, and the direction and form of her life that emerges after the period of mourning and heavy grief is over. Aspects of a widow's life that I and my colleagues have studied include her support systems, social roles, lifestyle, and self‐concept. These aspects are built gradually, or changed dramatically, as a result of disorganizing events followed by reorganizing processes. This paper examines the support systems American urban women have developed in widowhood.