The relation of locus of control and social support to life-cycle related needs of widows

This study is a pail of a larger research project on the coping of widows. The study reported here investigated the effects of widowhood-related needs along the life-cycle and variables hypothesized to be related to it, using a multivariate hierarchical regression model. The participants were 246 widows who were sampled by stratified-random sampling, according to age groups, from the population of social insurance recipient Israeli urban widows. The findings indicate that personal resource variables-age and locus of control orientation-were directly related to the four need constellations studied. Two of the three social support variables studied-size of the network and likelihood of seeking help from network members-were related to the needs only when interacting with the personal variables. The findings support previous research regarding the role of locus of control as a support mobilizer, and point to the importance of including personal as well as environmental resources, such as social support, in the study of bereavement and coping.