The author reports on a study of widows & widowers followed for 1 year after their spouse’s death. The study found that bereavement itself rather than loneliness or social isolation influences the occurrence of depressive symptoms over the period of 1 year. Some data indicates younger bereaved spouses tend to show more physical depressive symptoms & require hospitalization more than married controls or older surviving spouses at 1 year. Tables support the article.(JB)