Psychological Adjustment To Widowhood: The Role Of Income, Wealth And Time

This paper uses data from two longitudinal surveys to examine the relationship between
psychological well-being and financial well-being of older women and men, with specific
interest in differences by marital status and duration of widowhood. The Wisconsin
Longitudinal Study (WLS) provides a look at the consequences of relatively early
widowhood. The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) has interviewed a representative
sample of individuals 50 and older over the last two decades. We use the data from that
survey to examine the adjustment to widow(er)hood over a larger age range, but with likely
less precision to measure differences among women of a single age.