Social support and quality of life of widows involved in Southern Thailand's violence

The on-going violence in southern Thailand has affected the community as a whole and one of the most affected groups are the widows who lost their husbands and are left to care for their families. Taking over the role as the head of the family is a challenging task for these women. Therefore, the general aim of this study is to investigate social support and quality of life among widows involved in southern Thailand’s violence. The study measures social support and quality of life based upon demographic factors (age, religion, education level, occupation, size of family
and household income). A survey method was employed utilizing the WHOQOLBREF and SSQ-12 questionnaires to measure the quality of life and social support respectively among widows. A total of 337 widows were involved as respondents in the Pattani province. This study found that the overall social support among the
widows is at a moderate level while the analysis for their quality of life yielded a
normal score. The results also indicate that social support and quality of life differ based upon religion, education level, and occupation. The findings also show that the size of family and household income have negative relationship with social support and quality of life. Moreover, the results also indicate that social support is positively related to the quality of life of widows involved in southern Thailand’s
violence. This research suggests that the Thai government should provide aid to the widows based upon a needs-based welfare policy and also empower their families to aid them in the long run.