Gender, Preloss Marital Dependence, and Older Adults’ Adjustment to Widowhood

I examine how preloss emotional and instrumental dependence on one's spouse affects older adults’ psychological adjustment to widowhood. Analyses are based on 297 persons from the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) study, a prospective study of widowhood among adults aged 65 and older. Women who were most emotionally dependent on their spouses had the poorest self‐esteem while still married, yet evidence the highest levels of self‐esteem following loss. Men who were most dependent on their wives for home maintenance and financial management tasks experience the greatest personal growth following loss. These results suggest that widowed persons who were once highly dependent upon their spouses reap psychological rewards from the recognition that they are capable of managing on their own.