Coping Strategies of Older Women Article Heidrich, S.M. & Ryff, C.D.

The title of the article was, "How elderly women cope: Concerns and strategies." To some extent, th title is broader than either the intervention or the sample. First, although the women could properly be characterized as "elderly" (Mean age = 74 years), they actually constituted a narrow subset of the population of elderly women.

Specifically, they were highly educated women with good incomes who were mostly widows, who lived in a single geographic area. Moreover, the study examine coping only as it related to aging and age-related changes. How older women coped in general across their various problems was not examined in the study although the title makes it sound like this was the examination that was conducted.

The general thrust of the literature review was aimed at supporting the notion that there is a need for the conducted research. To this end, the review cites numerous studies (all of which are from reputable professional journals) focusing in on their conceptual and/or methodological short-comings. The points made about these shortcomings are logical and well-stated, thereby supporting and justifying the conducted research.

The reviewed research also provided a good overview of the general literature on how older women are coping or attempting to cope with aging and age-re

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ables. Sample As noted previously, the sample was actually a very narrow subset of the population of elderly women (high educated, mostly widows, good incomes, etc.). In addition, all sample subjects were recruited volunteers, a fact that further restricts the generalizability of the sample since existing social psychology research has shown that volunteers tend to be people with decidedly different characteristics than non-volunteers. The sampling plan could have been improved by: a) including women of diverse educational levels, income levels, and marital statuses; and b) including non-volunteers. Measures Some of the measures used in the study were standardized questionnaires, e.g., The CES-D depression scale and the Older American Resources and Services schedule of illness. Because of their standardization, at least a moderate level of confidence can be placed in the validity and reliability of data collected with these measures. Moreover, since the measures were used to measure aspects of physical (OARS) and mental health (CES-D), and these instruments were designed to do just that, they appear to be appropriately used in the study. However, absolutely no information was provided on how the coping and concern me
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Approximate Word count = 1321
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)