Cecilia Cordova Final Manuscript

The Effects on Quality of Life of Elderly Women with and Without a Male Partner
Cecilia Cordova
Mount St. Mary’s College

Abstract
The purpose of this research is to provide insight into the quality of lives of elderly women with and without a male partner. The effects between women married with a male partner, widowed, and never married result in varying degrees of quality of life in older woman. The study focused on quality of life as it pertains to physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing. The women that contributed their experiences for this research represent three different marital statuses: married, widowed and single/never married. This is a qualitative study that uses semi-standardized interviews from individual intrinsic case studies. The information the participants contributed for the case study is anonymous. Their contributions provide information regarding the effects and results of sharing a life with a male partner or without after the age of 60. The sampling for this study was convenience sampling. The results of the three intrinsic case studies revealed the differences that emerge in quality of elderly women living with and without a male partner. The study also considers measures for elderly women to decrease the discrepancies between the gap of results of living with a male partner and without.

Purpose
The purpose of this research was to investigate the differences between the effects in marital status on elderly women over the age of 60. The first marital status considered was married with a male partner. The second marital status discussed was widowed and the results of life after the loss of male partner. The third marital status is single never married and the results from a life never dependent on a male partner. The women that will participate in this study will be between the ages 60 and 80 years of age. The researcher will also explore the impact on quality of life, health, and financial

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