In light of the significance of widowhood as a precipitator of loneliness in adult life, research in the areas of family sociology, psychology and social gerontology is surveyed with a view to illuminating the problem of loneliness in widowhood and old age. (Author)

Summarizes the results of an open-ended, semi-structured interview of 143 elderly persons (78 institutionalized and 65 living in their own homes) asking such questions as what specific everyday "things" contributed to their happiness, what "reinforcements" are important to them and what facilitated and/or restricted their adjusting to becoming…

The need for preadmission counselling among 45 female applicants to homes for the aged was assessed by examining applicant morale, expectations about the institutions, amount of contact with the facilities, and status on the waiting list. (Author)

The concept of Personal Major Events is proposed as a methodological approach to the study of death and dying with retired couples. A pilot study which elicited the personal major events during retirement of retired couples indicated that these couples tended to place different emphases on death. (Author)

This article deals with a survey of 29 elderly patients' attitudes toward death, dying, aging, life's meaning, security, pain, and interpersonal relationships. This paper was presented at the annual Canadian Psychological Association meeting, Toronto, Ontario, June 1976. (Author)

Subjects were 42 women between the ages of 40 and 60 from Springfield, Missouri. It was hypothesized that as women's neighborliness increased, the potential for disengagement from society decreased. A significant negative correlation of the .01 level was found to support the prediction. (Author)

This article reports an empirical study of loneliness among 158 senior citizens living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Respondents each completed a self-administered questionnaire. Greater loneliness was associated with less friendship contact, fewer close friends, social anxiety, ineffectiveness in influencing others, low marital satisfaction, and low…

Studied older male suicides as more often perceived by survivors as being physically ill, whereas older female suicides were more often seen as having a mental disorder. Older suicides typically use very lethal means and are less likely to have been involved with alcohol, drugs, or violence than younger suicides. (Author)

Studied the succession of roles adopted from generation to generation as patterned in relation to the family life course, changes in health and dependency of various generations and factors such as family size, birth order, and sex. Proposes a conceptual framework for an analysis of aging and the family. (Author)

Reviews existing gerontological literature, pointing to the prevailing familial, nonfamilial distinction, and presents an argument for drawing conceptual boundaries along peer, intergenerational lines. Explores the potential utility of this distinction by examining home care, to draw attention to a potentially useful distinction which has been…

Compared single retired women and widows for the extent of their social involvement and degree of adjustment to old age. Widows were more socially engaged than singles, primarily because of their involvement in kinship roles. Never-married women were better adjusted than the widows. (Author)

Analyzed 1976 Census data of Canada, showing that over half the older women lived with relatives while over three quarters of the older men did. Results indicate the percentage of older women living alone has increased markedly since 1961; those in western Canada were more likely to live alone. (Author)