Mental health articles

 High percentages of women are widowed throughout the world. In developing countries the proportionof widowed women over 65 varies from 75% in the Republic of Korea, 71% in Morocco, 70% in India,41% in Mexico, 35% in Cuba to 32% in Haiti.Percentages of widowed females are much higher than widowed males. For example, in Indonesia 62% of thewomen over age 60 are widowed in comparison to 12%of males. At least three factors account for this difference: (1) age specific death rates among men are mostoften higher than among women in olderages (reflected in a majority of women over the age of 60 worldwide); (2) men tend to marry women younger than themselves; and(3) men are more likely to remarry than womenif their spouses die. As populations in developing countries age and aslife expectancies improve, the older populations may begin to approximate the structure of those indeveloped countries where there are more older women than men. This will equate to a larger absolute numberof widows in many developing countries. The state of widowhood often equates to economic vulnerability for women in developing countries, andthis, in combination with associated emotional lossand changes in social status and interactions can affect levels of non-organic disorders, particularly depression.Research from industrialized countries hasshown a relationship between widowhood and levelsof depression, mortality and mental illness.Anthropological studies from developing countrieshave, in most cases,revealed the social plight of widows and negative consequences of widowhood in terms of support. In Bangladesh, following the death of their husbands, thesocial role of elderly women changes from the head ofthe domestic realm to that of a quiet and unassuming'old widow', indicating their loss of authority andstatus. Folta and Deck assert that, in Zimbabwe,factors such as "the introduction of a cash economy,migration of husbands and now sons and evendaughters for employment, the desire of the young toestablish independent households and/or increasetheir own financial positions, national independenceand political change have all contributed to thebreakdown in tradition especially as it relates toinheritance, respect for the elderly and a sense of responsibility for their well-being". Inthis context, widows have particularly suffered sincetheir property is often confiscated by relatives of theirformer husbands, and they are left in a situationleading to "destitution, insecurity and low self-esteem". It is even possible that rates of organic disordersamong older women are higher in some locations dueto the socioeconomic adversity that they encounter. Asseen in the earlier section on education, women's lowsocial status relative to men and their domesticresponsibilities lead them to receive less education in many parts of the world. Katzman has recently proposed that education may provide protectionagainst dementia. He suggests "that education(secondary school as compared to no education)increases brain reserve by increasing synaptic densityin neocortical association cortex, leading to the delayof symptoms by 4 to 5 years in those with AD (andprobably other dementing disorders)…".Zhang et al. postulate that higher rates ofdementia among women in China, especially in olderage groups, could be due to their lack of formaleducation.

 

Tags: elderly women