Much of the literature on widowhood has focused on coping and adjustment following the death of a spouse; only recently have social/psychological relationships among the widowed become the subject of investigation. To examine the activity patterns and well-being of elderly widows living in a Florida retirement community, 48 widows were contrasted with 48 randomly selected married women. The two groups were matched on demographic variables and perceived health in order to control confounding effects in interpreting the marital status/well-being relationship. Widows had lower life satisfaction and a lower activity level than married women. As the sample was drawn from a predominately married population, the lower activity of widows may have been either self-imposed or the result of rejection by others, as a social exclusion hypothesis would suggest. Overall analyses found a significant positive correlation of engagement varibles with life satisfaction. However, activity level was more highly related to morale among the widowed (whose activity level was lower than that of married women). The results emphasize the importance of social involvement for the psychological well-being of the widowed. (Author/WAS)