By Yunusa Abejide Jimoh, Abdulateef Ambali, Aminu Abubakar & Ibrahim Joji
Abstract
This study investigated the sources of stress and adjustment strategies of childless widows in Kwara State. The research design adopted for the study was survey research design. The population comprised childless widows in Kwara State. One hundred childless widows were selected using purposive sampling technique. Sources of Stress and Adjustment Strategies of Childless Widows Questionnaire (SOSASOCWQ), developed by the researchers, was used to obtain data from the respondents and were analysed using mean and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Four null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Result obtained showed that socio-psychological stressors and financial stressors are major sources of stress for childless widows; and ways of adjustment include visiting friends, relatives and engaging in petty trading. The findings of the study revealed that there is no significant difference in the sources of stress and adjustment strategies of childless widows based on age at bereavement and educational level. It was therefore recommended, among others, that counsellors should organize comprehensive community education Sources of Stress and Adjustment Strategies of Childless Widows in Kwara State, Nigeria Yunusa Abejide Jimoh, Abdulateef Ambali, Aminu Abubakar & Ibrahim Joji 47 programmes to sensitize and enlighten the widows on how to minimize stress and adjust to stress effectively.