The influence of widowhood and social engagement on cognitive impairment among Chinese older adults and factors mediating their association.

Background: Prior studies exploring the impact of widowhood on cognitive impairment in later life have been focussed on the USA and Europe. We aimed to explore the mediating role of social engagement, health behaviours, and subjective well-being in the association between widowhood and cognitive impairment in the Chinese population. Methods: We conducted a study on 7796 older individuals enrolled in the 2018 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Health Longevity Study. We used logistic regression models to analyse the impact of widowhood on cognitive health among older adults and performed mediation analysis to determine possible mediating factors in this relationship. Results: Widows and widowers had a higher risk of having cognitive impairment than married older adults (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.312, 2.279). The results from structural equation modelling (SEM) provided a good fit to the observed data (χ2 = 24.909; P = 0.00) and indicated that the effect of widowhood on cognitive impairment was partially mediated by social engagement, lifestyle behaviours, and subjective well-being (ß = 0.075; P < 0.01). Conclusions: Our findings contribute to existing research on the mechanisms underlying the association between widowhood and cognitive impairment among older individuals, suggesting a need for policies targeted at the specific needs of this vulnerable population, such as the maintenance of social interactions, adoption of a healthy lifestyle, improvement of subjective well-being, and provision of necessary support systems.

Association between widowhood and cognitive function among Chinese older adults with hearing impairment: the moderating effect of social support and participation.

BACKGROUND: Older adults with hearing impairments are vulnerable to cognitive impairment. Although previous reports suggest a correlation between widowhood and cognitive impairment, further investigation is needed to elucidate the effect of widowhood on cognitive function and the moderating effects of social support and participation on widowhood-related cognitive impairment in this vulnerable demographic. METHODS: The study's data were sourced from the nationally representative Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) for the years 2011, 2014, and 2018. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the association between widowhood and cognitive function among older adults. Multivariate logistic regression examined the effect of widowhood on the likelihood of experiencing various levels of cognitive impairment in older adults with hearing impairments. A moderating effect model explored the roles of social support and participation in mitigating widowhood-related cognitive impairment. RESULTS: The cognitive function of older adults with hearing impairment was found to be lower than that of those without hearing impairment. Widowhood was significantly negatively correlated with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores in older adults, both with (Coef. = -0.898) and without (Coef.: = -0.680) hearing impairments. A stronger association was observed between widowhood and declining cognitive function among older adults with hearing impairment. Specifically, widowhood may be more likely to significantly increase the likelihood of moderate and severe cognitive impairment (RRR = 1.326, 1.538) among older adults with hearing impairments. Social support and social participation significantly moderated the cognitive impairment associated with widowhood among hearing-impaired older adults. These forms of support and engagement are buffers against the risk of widowhood-related cognitive impairment among this demographic. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that widowhood is significantly associated with cognitive impairment in older adults with hearing impairment. Social support and participation help mitigate this risk. Strategies should prioritize early screening, specialized cognitive rehabilitation, comprehensive care, and enhancing social support and participation to maintain cognitive health in this vulnerable population following widowhood.

Mortality and Function After Widowhood Among Older Adults With Dementia, Cancer, or Organ Failure.

Importance: The widowhood effect, in which mortality increases and function decreases in the period following spousal death, may be heightened in older adults with functional impairment and serious illnesses, such as cancer, dementia, or organ failure, who are highly reliant on others, particularly spouses, for support. Yet there are limited data on widowhood among people with these conditions. Objective: To determine the association of widowhood with function and mortality among older adults with dementia, cancer, or organ failure. Design, Setting, and Participants: This longitudinal cohort study used population-based, nationally representative data from the Health and Retirement Study database linked to Medicare claims from 2008 to 2018. Participants were married or partnered community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older with and without cancer, organ failure, or dementia and functional impairment (function score <9 of 11 points), matched on widowhood event and with follow-up until death or disenrollment. Analyses were conducted from September 2021 to May 2024. Exposure: Widowhood. Main Outcomes and Measures: Function score (range 0-11 points; 1 point for independence with each activity of daily living [ADL] or instrumental activity of daily living [IADL]; higher score indicates better function) and 1-year mortality. Results: Among 13 824 participants (mean [SD] age, 70.1 [5.5] years; 6416 [46.4%] female; mean [SD] baseline function score, 10.2 [1.6] points; 1-year mortality: 0.4%) included, 5732 experienced widowhood. There were 319 matched pairs of people with dementia, 1738 matched pairs without dementia, 95 matched pairs with cancer, 2637 matched pairs without cancer, 85 matched pairs with organ failure, and 2705 matched pairs without organ failure. Compared with participants without these illnesses, widowhood was associated with a decline in function immediately following widowhood for people with cancer (change, -1.17 [95% CI, -2.10 to -0.23] points) or dementia (change, -1.00 [95% CI, -1.52 to -0.48] points) but not organ failure (change, -0.84 [95% CI, -1.69 to 0.00] points). Widowhood was also associated with increased 1-year mortality among people with cancer (hazard ratio [HR], 1.08 [95% CI, 1.04 to 1.13]) or dementia (HR, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.02 to 1.27]) but not organ failure (HR, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.98 to 1.06]). Conclusions and Relevance: This cohort study found that widowhood was associated with increased functional decline and increased mortality in older adults with functional impairment and dementia or cancer. These findings suggest that persons with these conditions with high caregiver burden may experience a greater widowhood effect.

The impact of widowhood on the quality of life of older adults: the mediating role of intergenerational support from children.

BACKGROUND: China's transition into an aging society is accelerated by the simultaneous decline in fertility rates and the prolonged life expectancy of older adults. The impact of widowhood, a significant stressor in old age, has emerged as a crucial factor affecting the quality of life among the elderly. METHODS: This study is based on data from the 2018 China Health and Aging Tracking Survey. Multiple linear regression models were employed to investigate the influence of widowhood on the quality of life of older adults in China. Additionally, Bootstrap mediation effects were utilized to assess the mediating role of intergenerational support, considering both financial and emotional support from children. RESULTS: The findings indicate a substantial reduction in the quality of life index among older adults following widowhood. Moreover, the impact is more pronounced among older men compared to older women. Rural older adults experience a significant decline in quality of life post-widowhood, while the effect on urban counterparts is not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Intergenerational financial support was identified as a partial mediator between widowhood and the quality of life among older adults. This underscores the importance of familial financial assistance in mitigating the adverse effects of widowhood on the well-being of the elderly. These results offer valuable insights into the nuanced impact of widowhood on the quality of life among older adults in China, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions, especially in rural areas. CLINICAL TRIAL: Not applicable.

A latent profile analysis and network analysis of anxiety and depression symptoms in Chinese widowed elderly.

BACKGROUND: Widowhood, as a traumatic event in the aging process, may lead to adverse psychological consequences such as anxiety and depression. However, the heterogeneity of anxiety and depression comorbidity patterns in widowed elderly and the interrelationships between symptoms have not been adequately studied. METHOD: 10,239 elderly aged 65 years and older were screened from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS 2017-2018), to assess depression and anxiety using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD). The subgroups of widowed elderly with similar patterns of symptoms were identified by latent profile analysis (LPA). The structure of anxiety-depressive comorbidity network was characterized using "bridge expected influence" as centrality indices. Network stability was tested using a case drop bootstrap program. A network comparison test (NCT) was performed to examine the differences in network characteristics across LPA subgroups. RESULT: LPA identified dichotomous profiles: low comorbid (n = 4457) and high comorbid (n = 692). NCT revealed a significant difference in the global strength between networks (S = 0.631, p < 0.001). GAD1 (Nervousness or anxiety) is the common bridging symptom for both networks, while the bridging symptom for the high comorbidity network also includes GAD3 (Generalized worry). LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional methods are unable to verify causal relationships, and further randomized controlled trials are warranted. CONCLUSION: Anxiety-depressive pattern in Chinese widowed elderly can be categorized into a low comorbid or a high comorbid group. GAD3 (Generalized worry) can be used as the core intervention target during intervention.

Prolonged Grief Disorder in ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR: Factor structure, and psychosocial and loss-related correlates in a sample of widowed persons. / Zespól zaloby przedluzonej w ICD-11 i DSM-5-TR: struktura czynnikowa oraz korelaty socjodemograficzne i zwiazane ze strata w próbie osób owdowialych.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine whether the symptoms of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) according to ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR have a unifactorial structure. Second, we sought to determine the sociodemographic and loss-related correlates of PGD symptom severity according to ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR. METHODS: People who had lost a spouse (N = 144) in the past six months were examined using the Polish versions of the Prolonged Grief Disorder-13 scale (PG-13) and Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG). Selected PG-13 and ICG items were included in the analyses to cover the PGD criteria according to ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses supported the one-dimensional structure of both sets of symptoms of the disorder. Briefer time since loss and loss due to an accident were associated with PGD symptom severity according to both ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR. CONCLUSIONS: PGD is a one-dimensional and internally consistent psychopathological syndrome. Widows and widowers who have recently lost their spouse due to an accident may be at especially heightened risk of developing severe levels of PGD symptoms.

Changes in Household Wealth Over the Process of Widowhood Across European Countries.

OBJECTIVES: Widowhood has been shown to decrease surviving spouses' economic well-being. However, previous research has focused mostly on income-related outcomes, and has been less attentive to the importance of wealth, the processual nature of spousal death, and cross-national variation. In this study, we assessed how total, housing, and nonhousing wealth changes over the process of widowhood across 11 European countries. METHODS: Individual fixed-effects regressions and longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe were used to estimate how household net total wealth, housing wealth, and nonhousing wealth changed 3 years prior and 6 or more years after spousal death relative to 4 or more years prior to widowhood in 11 European countries. RESULTS: In all countries, household net wealth stayed relatively constant across the widowhood process, except for Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland, where wealth declines were observed especially in the years following death. However, we found declines in housing wealth over the widowhood process, including prior to spousal death, across most countries in our sample, particularly in Austria, France, Denmark, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Declines in housing wealth were generally not reflected by changes in nonhousing wealth but coincided with leaving homeownership and downsizing. DISCUSSION: Widowhood is associated with lower wealth, especially housing wealth, even in the years before spousal loss. Future research should focus on adjudicating the mechanisms behind country differences and exploring the implications of lost wealth following widowhood for surviving spouses' well-being and intergenerational transfers.

Marital loss, gender and their association with mental health and physical health outcomes in Bosnian refugees: lesson reminder in a time of war.

INTRODUCTION: Mental health disorders and chronic health diseases are highly prevalent and impactful consequences of distressful experiences among refugees, yet a comprehensive conceptual model encompassing biopsychosocial factors is lacking. This study aims to assess the relevance of widowhood to PTSD and major depression maintenance as well as to adverse health outcomes in a cohort of Bosnian refugees. METHODS: This longitudinal study included 526 subjects followed up for 3 years. The interviews were conducted in refugee camps in Varazdin, Croatia, in the Bosnian language. Data were collected using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and Hopkins Checklist-25, respectively. Physical health disorders were self-reported. RESULTS: Both at baseline and endpoint female gender and marital loss are associated with a statistically significant higher burden of psychological and physical health outcomes. This group showed higher rates of PTSD and major depression disorders, as high comorbidity with hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, asthma and arthritis. DISCUSSION: The results of the present study align with a wealth of literature studies linking marital loss to shifts in mental health and impaired physical health. A conceptual framework is provided for understanding how both mental health and physical health outcomes are highly dependent on social phenomena. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation reinforces the hypothesis of the role of social bonds and marital support in recovery from trauma experiences. Further studies are, however, needed for a better understanding of the consequences of adverse events on trauma-exposed subjects from a holistic bio-psycho-social point of view.

The impact of widowhood on the mental health of older adults and the buffering effect of social capital.

Background: Widowhood is one of the most serious issues affecting the mental health of older persons. China currently has tens of millions of widowed older adult, which is a huge group. It is of great significance to study the impacts of widowhood on their mental health and put forward some measures for improvement. Method: We used China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data in 2020, which included 4,184 older adults. Linear regression is used to examine the relationship among widowhood, mental health, and social capital. Results: Both short-term and medium- and long-term widowhood lead to a significant increase in depression, which seriously affects the mental health of older people. At the same time, community-level and family-level social capital have significant buffering effects on the loss of mental health caused by widowhood, but this effect is heterogeneous, with different types of social capital playing different roles among different gender groups. Conclusion: The provision of care support by children and good neighborhood relationships can help mitigate the psychological impact of widowhood, and these are areas where social policy can make a difference.

Loneliness predicts decreased physical activity in widowed but not married or unmarried individuals.

Background: Physical activity is associated with improved health and function in older adults, yet most older adults are sedentary. Loneliness is associated with decreased physical activity at the cross-section, but longitudinal studies are scarce. We examined longitudinal associations between loneliness and physical activity-and whether they were modified by marital status and network size (the number of children, relatives, and friends a person interacts with at least once a month). Methods: We analyzed data from 1,931 older adults without dementia at baseline from the Rush Memory and Aging Project with a mean follow-up of 4.8 years (mean age 79.6 ± 7.7, 74.9% women). Loneliness was assessed using the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale. Physical activity was assessed as the frequency with which participants engaged in five categories of activities (e.g., walking, gardening, calisthenics, bicycling, and swimming). Linear mixed effects models examined associations between baseline loneliness and change in physical activity over time after adjusting for demographics, depressive symptoms, global cognition, disability, network size, marital status, social support, and social and cognitive activities. We assessed for effect modification by marital status and network size. Results: Associations between loneliness and physical activity differed by marital status. In widowed individuals, baseline loneliness was associated with a 0.06 h/week greater decrease in physical activity per year compared to those who were not lonely (p = 0.005, CI -0.1, 0.02)-which equaled a 150% decrease in physical activity per year. Loneliness did not predict a statistically significant decrease in physical activity in married or unmarried individuals. Discussion: Loneliness is associated with decreased physical activity in widowed older adults and should be considered in the design of interventions to prevent or slow the decline in physical activity and promote healthy aging.

Challenges and Coping Strategies in Transitioning From Caregiving to Widowhood: A Systematic Review.

Ninety-one percent of surviving spouses in the U.S. cared for their spouses before they died. This review explores the challenges of the transition from caregiving to widowhood and different coping strategies used by widowed spousal caregivers. A systematic review of literature on the transition from caregiving to widowhood was conducted using four major academic search engines. Overall, 280 articles were identified, with 22 meeting the inclusion criteria. Challenges for widowed caregivers included experiencing care burden, letting go of the caregiver role, grief, and triggers. Widowed caregivers' coping strategies included social support and services use, filling the time gap, finding spirituality, and engaging in unhealthy behaviors. Future research is needed to determine the efficacy of widowed caregivers' coping strategies. Concerted and collaborative action by health professionals, community organizations, and policymakers is needed to develop programs and other approaches to support widowed caregivers.

Spousal bereavement and four-year trajectories of medication use: A nationwide register-based study in Swedish older adults.

BACKGROUND: Medication use around widowhood has been poorly described for most medication classes. Medication use patterns can reflect health consequences of spousal loss, as previously shown for psychotropic drugs. METHODS: We used data from nationwide health registers (2008-2020) to describe the patterns of use of dispensed medications in all widowed Swedes aged ≥65 years followed between 2 years before and 2 years after spousal death. All prescription drugs used by at least 5% of the cohort were considered according to their therapeutic subgroups (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical [ATC] classification system 2nd level). We used group-based trajectory models to cluster widowed individuals into up to 4 distinct longitudinal patterns of monthly medication use. We ranked the therapeutic subgroups with similar patterns according to their plausibility to reflect potential health effects of spousal loss, compared to those of psycholeptics (mainly anxiolytics, hypnotics) and psychoanaleptics (mainly antidepressants) as the references. RESULTS: From 212,111 widowed adults included (68% female and 70% aged ≥75 years), we observed a significant increasing trend in medication use, especially after spousal death, for 21 out of the 39 different therapeutic subgroups that were used by at least 5% (most represented pharmacological groups: cardiovascular system, nervous system, and alimentary tract and metabolism). This increasing trend often concerned only a small proportion of individuals, with varying magnitude and speed of change in medication use across therapeutic subgroups. The patterns of use of antiepileptics, laxatives, skin emollients/protectives, analgesics, and drugs for anemia, constipation, or peptic ulcers, were the closest to those of references, displaying the largest changes in use, and were therefore ranked as the most likely to reflect health effects of spousal loss. CONCLUSION: Our results confirmed the increase in psychotropic medications' use in widowed older adults and identified several potential physical health effects of spousal loss that warrant further research.

Factors Contributing to Well-Being in Japanese Community-Dwelling Older Adults Who Experienced Spousal Bereavement.

PURPOSE: Providing support for older adults after spousal bereavement is crucial for psychological recovery through the grieving process and for promoting a healthy and happy remainder of life. The current study aimed to understand factors influencing well-being among Japanese community-dwelling older adults who experienced spousal bereavement by evaluating how their roles and activities affected their psychological well-being following the loss. METHOD: We conducted a cross-sectional, anonymous, self-administered questionnaire survey of 332 older adults who had experienced death of a spouse in later adulthood. RESULTS: Identified factors that affected well-being after spousal loss were sex, ability to go out without assistance from others, long duration since spousal loss, having a hobby, and adopting a life-oriented approach to cope with bereavement. Well-being following spousal loss was influenced by participants' activities and roles. CONCLUSION: Findings of the current study provide potentially valuable suggestions for surviving spouses and their supporters when coping with grief following spousal loss. [Research in Gerontological Nursing, 17(3), 121-130.].

Loneliness Predicts Progression of Frailty in Married and Widowed, but Not Unmarried Community Dwelling Older Adults.

BACKGROUND: Loneliness is highly prevalent among older adults and is associated with frailty. Most studies consider loneliness in isolation without consideration for structural and functional measures of social relationships - and longitudinal studies are scarce. OBJECTIVES: This study examined longitudinal associations between loneliness and frailty and analyzed how structural and functional social measures influence these associations. DESIGN: Linear mixed effects models examined longitudinal associations between loneliness and frailty assessed with the frailty index (scale 0-100). Models were adjusted for baseline age, gender, education, depressive symptoms, global cognition, and structural (e.g., social network, marital status), and functional social measures (e.g., social, cognitive, and physical activity, and social support). PARTICIPANTS: Loneliness and frailty data from 1,931 older adults without dementia at baseline from the Rush Memory and Aging Project were examined (mean age 79.6 ± 7.7 years, 74.9% female). MEASUREMENTS: Baseline loneliness assessed by the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale was the predictor of interest. RESULTS: Frailty increased significantly over a mean follow-up period of 4.6 years. Effects of loneliness on frailty were modified by marital status. Loneliness predicted an additional accumulation of 0.37 and 0.34 deficits on the frailty index per year in married and widowed individuals respectively, compared to those who were not lonely (married: p=0.009, CI 0.09, 0.64; widowed: p=0.005, CI 0.1, 0.58). Loneliness did not predict frailty progression in unmarried individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Loneliness predicts frailty progression, highlighting the importance of social determinants on physical health in aging.

Unraveling the Impact of Widowhood Duration on Depression: Does Time Heal All Wounds?

China's aging population has witnessed a surge in widowed older adults, raising concerns about their mental health. Losing a spouse is a profoundly distressing experience with enduring effects on well-being. Despite the proverbial belief in time's healing power, existing studies often neglect the potential decline in depressive symptoms during widowhood. Drawing data from the 2015 and 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, this study delved into the impact of widowhood duration on depression among 8370 older adults and uncovered significantly higher depression scores among widowed individuals, particularly in the initial three years. This study revealed that widowhood contributes to heightened depression levels even after accounting for sociodemographic factors. Although the depressive impact lessens over time, it persists beyond three years, underscoring the need for heightened awareness and support for this vulnerable population.

Mortality risk following end-of-life caregiving: A population-based analysis of hospice users and their families.

Experiencing the death of a family member and providing end-of-life caregiving can be stressful on families - this is well-documented in both the caregiving and bereavement literatures. Adopting a linked-lived theoretical perspective, exposure to the death and dying of one family member could be conceptualized as a significant life stressor that produces short and long-term health consequences for surviving family members. This study uses familial-linked administrative records from the Utah Population Database to assess how variations in family hospice experiences affect mortality risk for surviving spouses and children. A cohort of hospice decedents living in Utah between 1998 and 2016 linked to their spouses and adult children (n = 37,271 pairs) provides an ideal study population because 1) hospice typically involves family members in the planning and delivery of end-of-life care, and 2) hospice admission represents a conscious awareness and acknowledgment that the decedent is entering an end-of-life experience. Thus, hospice duration (measured as the time between admission and death) is a precise measure of the family's exposure to an end-of-life stressor. Linking medical records, vital statistics, and other administrative microdata to describe decedent-kin pairs, event-history models assessed how hospice duration and characteristics of the family, including familial network size and coresidence with the decedent, were associated with long-term mortality risk of surviving daughters, sons, wives (widows), and husbands (widowers). Longer hospice duration increased mortality risk for daughters and husbands, but not sons or wives. Having other family members in the state was protective, and living in the same household as the decedent prior to death was a risk factor for sons. We conclude that relationship type and sex likely modify the how of end-of-life stressors (i.e., potential caregiving demands and bereavement experiences) affect health because of normative gender roles. Furthermore, exposure to dementia deaths may be particularly stressful, especially for women.

Widowhood and mortality risk in Taiwan: a population-based matched cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Studying the causes of death among deceased spouses and surviving partners may provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of the association between widowhood and mortality. This study investigated the mortality risk of widowhood in Taiwan, examined the association of the cause of death between widowed individuals and their deceased spouses and explored potential modifying effects by age, gender and duration after widowhood. METHODS: This matched cohort study utilized Taiwan's National Health Insurance claims database and National Death Registry. In total, 204 010 widowed men and 596 136 widowed women were identified with a mean follow-up period of 6.9 and 7.9 years, respectively, and 816 040 comparison men and 2 384 544 comparison women were selected. RESULTS: Widowhood was associated with an increased mortality risk, with widowed men having a 1.32 increased risk and widowed women having a 1.27 increased risk. Age at spousal death and duration modified the associations after widowhood. The widowed individuals are more likely to die by the same cause as the deceased spouse if they died by suicide, accident, endocrine, gastrointestinal disorders or infection. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that healthcare policies and interventions should be developed to improve widowed individuals' health and overall welfare.

Exploring the meaning of a good life for older widows with extensive need of care: a qualitative in-home interview study.

INTRODUCTION: Studies of older women's life transitions is rare but gains relevance as the aging population, with older women as the majority, expands. PURPOSE: To explore the meaning of a good life for older widows with extensive home care needs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with eleven women, aged 80 and over (82-95 years, mean 90) residing at home with extensive care needs (≥4 daily sessions, averaging 2.5-6 hours, mean 3). Data were analysed by reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: The theme "This Day in My Home, the frame of my life" reflects the women's experience of a good life. A good day imbued them with hope, trust and security, carrying them forward with the assurance that night would usher in a new day. However, there were moments when life was merely about navigating daily challenges. During such days, the women felt trapped in time, unsafe and lonely. CONCLUSION: A day at home may seem static, yet it mirrors life's dynamism, evolving with shifting circumstances. Older widows navigate challenges while maintaining their sense of self, independence, and connection to home. These findings have implications for aged care, recognizing the multifaceted aspects of life and the centrality of home.

How does social support affect subjective well-being among Chinese widowed older adults?

Background: Social support (SS) is an important factor influencing subjective well-being (SWB) in older adults. This is especially true for the special group of widowed older adults (WOA). Widowhood means that older adults have lost their most important SS, and therefore, the search for a guardian from outside the spouse becomes a central issue in ensuring the SWB of WOA. Methods: The data for this paper were obtained from CGSS 2021, a large national social survey in China. We operationalized SWB as an individual's overall perception of his or her experience of happiness using 'affective well-being' (i.e., emphasizing an individual's positive affective experiences), and scores were calculated using a Likert scale. This study used linear regression modeling to examine the impact of SS on the SWB of WOA (aged 60 and above). Results: It was found that, first, this study presents the role of different circles of SS on the SWB of WOA, fully highlighting the importance of social context. Specifically, daughters, neighbors, and relatives constitute the guardians of the SWB for WOA in rural, whereas daughters and friends constitute the guardians of the SWB for WOA in rural. Second, the protective resources provided by the guardians not only serve as a buffer for WOA in distress but also reduce the likelihood of negative events occurring, thereby increasing WOA's SWB. Discussion: This paper partially corroborates the findings of established studies on the topic of SS and SWB among older adults and the above findings not only help us to further explain the relationship between SS and SWB theoretically but also help us to rationalize the construction of SS for WOA practically.