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Research on Aging
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Long-Term Payoffs of Work? Women's Past Involvement in Paid Work and Mental Health in Widowhood

Manacy Pai

Florida State University

Anne E. Barrett

Florida State University

This study examines a domain of life—involvement in paid work—that has not been explored in prior research addressing the mental health consequences of widowhood. We argue that experiences in the paid labor force increase women's economic, social and psychological resources, which compound over the life course and ease their adjustment to widowhood. Using a sample of 207 widows interviewed in the Miami-Dade County, Florida area in 2001—2002, findings from ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models support the hypothesis that widows with work histories report fewer depressive symptoms than their peers without employment experience. Further analyses reveal that social and psychological resources mediate this association suggesting that employment enhances social support and self-perceptions, which reduce the negative health effects of widowhood. Our study illustrates the importance of incorporating work histories into examinations of widowhood, particularly as cohorts of women with considerable lifetime investments in paid work enter their later years.

Key Words: widowhood • work histories • distress • mental health • mastery • self-esteem

Research on Aging, Vol. 29, No. 5, 436-456 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0164027507304084
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