Sociological analysis of the active aging process in widows: The Seydişehir example

This study is a qualitative inquiry focusing on the active aging processes of widowed women (whose spouses have died and/or who are divorced) aged 60 and over residing in the district of Seydişehir, Konya Province. Because Seydişehir's rural–urban transition character (a spatial configuration in which the district center and surrounding neighborhoods/rural settlements interpenetrate) distinctly shapes widowed women's everyday practices, access to services, and public visibility, the fieldwork was designed with this local context in view. The participant group consists of 25 widowed women aged 60–82. Participants reside in the district center as well as in neighborhood/rural settlements. The research was conducted within a phenomenological (phenomenology) design, since the aim is to render visible the meaning-world of widowhood through participants' own narratives. Accordingly, semi-structured interviews—which treat the linguistic expression of experience as primary data—were preferred for data collection. The data obtained were analyzed using content analysis, and reliability was strengthened by achieving inter-researcher agreement with a second scholar at the coding–theming stages. The findings indicate that active aging is experienced simultaneously along the axes of health–participation–security and is interwoven with local cultural codes. Livelihoods are sustained predominantly through widow/survivor and retirement pensions together with limited property-based income; out-of-pocket payments arising from chronic disease management, medications, and transport, as well as care obligations, narrow the scope for social participation. Low-intensity physical activities, neighborhood and family rituals, and courses offered by the Public Education Center (Halk Eğitim) and the municipality strengthen psychosocial resilience. Religious rituals provide symbolic anchors that regulate loneliness and anxiety; widowhood is most often construed in terms of the values of autonomy, not being a burden, protection of privacy, and a dignified life. The results point to the need to strengthen income security, access to health and home-care services, low-cost participation channels, and digital/transport supports.