TRAUMATIC SITUATION OF WIDOWHOOD: IMPLICATIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Abstract

This study examined the traumatic situation of widowhood: implications for mental health. The descriptive research design was adopted and a multi-stage sampling procedure, which comprised proportionally, snowball and purposive methods were employed to draw a total sample of 419 widows in Kwara State. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive and inferential statistics. The hypotheses generated were tested at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that widowhood experiences are traumatic, especially with reference to anxiety about the future of their children, family finances, loneliness, worry about life, difficulty in keeping physically fit, suffering from depression, poor self-image and suicidal thoughts. It was recommended that the various stakeholders that are involved with widows should empower widows through vocational and skill acquisition programmes, the government should provide short-term loans for them, enact, and enforce laws prohibiting unhealthy widowhood practices, and medical experts should provide adequate medical care to widows and encourage them on the need to continue with life while counsellors should help them with bereavement counselling.