The purpose of the study was to investigate widow satisfaction/dissatisfaction with key organizational linkages following the death of a spouse, to identify problems widows encounter in dealing with organizations, and to identify those persons to whom widows turn when they experience unsatisfactory organizational linkages. / The sample consisted of seventy women, widowed between twelve and twenty-four months. Subjects were selected randomly from obituary notices and were first contacted by letter and then by telephone. Information was collected during telephone interviews using the Information Inventory and Linkage Satisfaction Schedule, two instruments designed by the investigator. / Widows indicated greatest satisfaction in their dealings with banks and mortuaries. Widows experienced greatest dissatisfaction in their dealings with physicians and hospital personnel. Widows often complained about the cost of services. However, the majority paid their bills in full without stating their dissatisfactions with the cost of services. / Three hypotheses, related to variables which may have accounted for differential ratings of satisfaction, were tested. Significantly higher global linkage satisfaction scores were observed among widows who jointly managed household finances during their marriages, widows who worked in occupations outside of the home, and widows who had relatives living in close proximity to their residences. A tendency among all widows to provide high global ratings was observed. This was consistent even in those cases in which widows expressed specific dissatisfactions and problems with service-providers. / Widows experienced the greatest number of problems in their dealings with hospitals and insurance companies. It was speculated that the larger bureaucracies may have overwhelmed the widow, thus impeding the problem-solving process. / Though widows experienced a large number of problems with service-providers, in over half of the cases, they did not discuss linkage problems with anyone. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-02, Section: A, page: 0557. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74735 |
| Contributors | FARRA, ROBERT ROSS., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 117 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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