Widows may have fewer social and financial problems than in the past

Noted: Karen Holden said she thinks that today there’s much more support for women, socially and in the form of information, which helps in times of financial stress. “I think with the increase in divorce, singlehood through marital dissolution is more common, so you get much more information – so there’s also much more information for widows,” Holden told Reuters Health. “Also, marriages are much more shared financially, so you don’t get the disorientation of suddenly having to manage on your own,” said Holden, who studies poverty and aging at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and was not involved in the study.