Grief and Psychological Adjustment Among Widows in Anambra State, South East Nigeria

Widowhood in Nigerian communities, particularly in South East states, is frequently accompanied by culturally imposed mourning practices, inheritance denial, and social marginalisation that intensify grief experiences and impede psychological adjustment. This study examines grief patterns and psychological adjustment among widows in Anambra State, South East Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey is applied to 200 widows aged 25 to 65 years recruited through purposive sampling from community women's groups and welfare associations in Awka, Onitsha, and Nnewi. The Inventory of Complicated Grief and the Adjustment Disorder-New Module-8 are administered alongside a questionnaire capturing widowhood duration, number of children, cultural mourning practice exposure, and social support received. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression are computed in SPSS. Literature from South East Nigerian widow psychology identifies customary widowhood rites including property stripping, seclusion, and forced inheritance practices as significant psychological stressors that compound normal grief and increase complicated grief risk. Worden's Tasks of Mourning Model and the Cultural Context of Grief Framework provide the theoretical reference. Findings are expected to reveal significant associations between cultural mourning practice severity and complicated grief, with social support as a moderating variable. Outcomes will inform the Anambra State Ministry of Women Affairs on culturally sensitive widow support programmes. Keywords: grief, psychological adjustment, widows, Anambra State, South East Nigeria.