An examination on social status and support network of elderly female widowed people living in rural areas

The aim of the this study is to examine the social relations of the elderly and widowed women, the point of view on these relationships, their impact on their expectations and lives and their support networks analyze. That qualitative research was carried out in Çandır and Sarımehmetler villages of Isparta province. The working group of the current study consists of 30 of widow women from these villages. The age of participants ranges from 59 to 90. The participants were reached with purposive sampling technique. In this study, a semi-structured interview form was used by researcher. Outputs of the study were evaluated through descriptive analaysis. Findings were discussed in the light of the related literature. According to the findings of the current study, old age means a period of losses for participants. Widowhood is an important milestone in some women's life. Generally, widow individuals don't want to remarry. Also widow women say they want to see all their treatments at home. The participants get the biggest support from their children. So and so the individulas value the most which they contact with their children and they rely most on their sons and daughters. Keywords: Aging, old age, widowhood, aging in rural, social support network.