Coping and Health Among Older Urban Widows, 1984-1986

A particular goal of the study was to explore both the different needs of Mexican American widows compared to Anglo widows, and some of the ways psychological studies must be adapted to successfully study this population. The study measured three aspects of health: physical symptom frequency, psychological symptom frequency, and functional disability (the inability to perform selected activities of daily living).

The success of various methods of coping was measured by perceived physical and psychological health. The sample consisted of 123 low-income widows residing in the Tucson area, including 64 Anglos, 53 Mexican Americans, and 6 Native Americans. All subjects were over forty years old, had incomes of less than $1000 per month, and had been widowed within six months of the initial interview.