Participation in Leisure Activities by Older Adults after a Stressful Life Event: The Loss of a Spouse

Abstract

This study aimed to establish if frequent participation in leisure activities helped widows and widowers adapt to widowhood, and to maintain lower stress levels. A small sample of sixty recently bereaved widows (n = 43) and widowers (n = 17) who were living in an Australian city were selected for the study. Their ages ranged from fifty to eight-four years with a mean age of sixty-four years. Each widow or widower was interviewed and provided responses to three scales measuring participation in leisure activities, adaptation to widowhood, and stress. Quantitative and qualitative research techniques were used to interpret the data. The leisure activities most frequently participated in by widows and widowers were found to be home based activities, involving social activities with family and friends. Greater participation in leisure activities was found to be negatively correlated with stress scores, suggesting an association between leisure participation and stress reduction for recently bereaved widows and widowers. However, the study failed to find any association between participation in leisure activities and adaptation after the death of a spouse. In addition, no significant differences were found in the age, gender, income, and type of employment of widows and widowers, although perceived health status was found to be a significant factor in helping to determine future participation in leisure activities.