Passing over: identity transition in widows.

This qualitative study of nine women examined the changes in their everyday lives as they cared for their terminally-ill husbands and after their husbands died. It also studied how the women coped with these changes, and how their coping contributed to their identity change from wife to widow. Symbolic interaction was utilized to study the changes in their social relationships, time usage, and the utilization of everyday objects. Initially, these changes eroded identity stability, but the women's efforts to deal with them contributed to the development of new skills, interests, and ultimately, new identities.