Antecedents and consequences of remarriage in later life

Later Life Marital Dissolution and Repartnership Status: A National Portrait

Objectives

Our study compares two types of later life marital dissolution that occur after age 50-divorce and widowhood-and their associations with repartnership status (i.e., remarried, cohabiting, or unpartnered).

Method

We used data from the Health and Retirement Study to provide a portrait of later life divorce and widowhood for women and men. Next, we tested whether marital dissolution type is related to women's and men's repartnered status, distinguishing among remarrieds, cohabitors, and unpartnereds, net of key sociodemographic indicators.

Results

Divorcees are more often repartnered through either remarriage or cohabitation than are widoweds. This gap persists among women net of an array of sociodemographic factors. For men, the differential is reduced to nonsignificance with the inclusion of these factors.

Discussion

Later life marital dissolution increasingly occurs through divorce rather than widowhood, and divorce is more often followed by repartnership. The results from this study suggest that gerontological research should not solely focus on widowhood but also should pay attention to divorce and repartnering during later life.

The Nature and Functions of Dating in Later Life

Using the National Survey of Families and Households, logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors that are significant predictors of dating for persons aged 60 years and older. Stepwise regressions were also conducted to determine the effects of dating on the psychological well-being of older daters. The strongest predictor of the propensity to date in later life is gender, with men significantly more likely to engage in dating. A number of gender differences were noted as they relate to the likelihood of dating. In particular, age and social role involvement tend to influence older men's likelihood of dating, while health and mobility were significantly associated with dating among older women.

Spousal dementia caregiving in the context of late-life remarriage

Increasing numbers of older couples entering late-life remarriage will face dementia and spousal caregiving. This qualitative study, informed by grounded theory methods, is a first to explore spousal caregiving in the late-life remarried context. Interviews with nine late-life remarried wife caregivers identified complex intergenerational stepfamily dynamics that appear to amplify isolation and stress for this group of caregivers. Most women reported experiencing rejection of remarriage by adult children, minimal family involvement in caregiving, and intergenerational conflict regarding decision making. Nonetheless, caregivers described proactive, strategic approaches toward caregiving. This study examines the construct of boundary ambiguity as it relates to late-life remarriage and dementia caregiving, thus merging the unique challenges of caregiver and stepfamily dynamics. Findings are discussed in light of the potential risks highlighted for remarried couples facing chronic health issues. Future dementia research that accounts for diverse marital and family histories is suggested.

Repartnering After Widowhood

OBJECTIVES

This study estimates the sex-specific prevalence of repartnering after widowhood. The main objective is to examine the competing choice between nonmarital cohabitation and remarriage as well as repartnering differentials.

METHODS

The study uses data from the 2007 Canadian General Social Survey and life table methods to illustrate gender and regional differences in the cumulative proportion of people aged 45 and older who repartner after widowhood. Proportional hazard models are used to examine how factors such as socioeconomic resources, region, demographic characteristics, and health associate with the risk of repartnering and repartnering preferences.

RESULTS

Most repartnering after widowhood occurs within ten years of this event or not at all. Ten years after widowhood, about 7% of widows and 29% of widowers have formed a new union. For both widows and widowers, the rate of remarriage is twice as high as the rate of cohabitation. The exception to this is the province of Quebec, where cohabitation is a more prevalent choice of repartnering than remarriage. There is a weak association between socioeconomic resources and both the risk of cohabitation and remarriage.

DISCUSSION

Our results confirm that constraints in marriage markets appear to contribute to a gender gap in the prevalence of repartnering after widowhood. Though the widowed prefer remarriage over cohabitation as a repartnering choice, there are important regional differences in repartnering that reflect cultural norms in the social acceptance of cohabitation. Socioeconomic disincentives to marriage do not appear to push the widowed into cohabitation.

Transitions Into and Out of Cohabitation in Later Life

Cohabitation among adults over age 50 is rising rapidly, more than doubling from 1.2 million in 2000 to 2.75 million in 2010. A small literature provides a descriptive portrait of older cohabitors, but no study has investigated transitions into and out of cohabitation during later life. Drawing on demographic and life course perspectives, the authors developed a framework for conceptualizing later life union behaviors. Using data from the 1998 - 2006 Health and Retirement Study, they estimated discrete -time event-history models predicting union formation (i.e., cohabitation or marriage) among older unmarried individuals (N = 3,736) as well as transitions to either marriage or separation among older cohabitors (N = 377). Those who formed a union were as likely to be in a cohabiting relationship as a marriage. Older adult cohabiting unions were quite stable and unlikely to culminate in either marriage or separation. During later life, cohabitation appears to operate as a long-term alternative to marriage.

Remarriage after Widowhood: A Marital History Study of Older Canadians

À l'aide des données historiques tirées de l'étude de Statistique Canada sur la famille et les amis de 1990, cette recherche étudie divers facteurs influençant la probabilité de remariage chez les homines et les femmes dont le premier mariage s'est terminé par un veuvage. Les résultats suggèrent qu'il existe d'importantes différences entre les deux sexes lorsqu'il s'agit de se remarier. Le taux de remariage chez les veufs est beaucoup plus élevé que chez les veuves. De plus, le taux de remariage varie selon les indicateurs du cycle de vie et la situation socioéconomique. L'auteur discute des conséquences de ces résultats.

Relationship quality among cohabitors and marrieds in older adulthood

The rapid growth in cohabitation in recent decades has coincided with a burgeoning literature on the topic. Yet despite a sustained increase in cohabitation among middle-aged and older adults, this group has received little research attention. Close relationships are integral to well-being and the quality of these relationships has consequences for health, especially among older adults. We use data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), a nationally representative sample of 3005 people ages 57-85 to compare the relationship quality of older cohabitors versus marrieds. The two groups are remarkably similar. Cohabitors and marrieds do not significantly differ in their reports of emotional satisfaction, pleasure, openness, time spent together, criticism, and demands. Cohabitors are less likely than marrieds to report that their relationship is very happy. There is some evidence of gender by union type differences. Cohabiting unions among older adults tend to be of relatively long duration. Overall, these results indicate that cohabitation may operate as an alternative to marriage for older adults.

Cohabitation among older adults: a national portrait

OBJECTIVE

Older adults are increasingly likely to experience cohabitation, or living together unmarried in an intimate, heterosexual union. In order to begin building a conceptual framework, we provide a descriptive portrait of older adult cohabitors, emphasizing how they compare to older remarrieds and unpartnereds.

METHODS

We used data from both Census 2000 and the 1998 Health and Retirement Study ( HRS; Health and Retirement Study, 1998) to estimate the size and composition of the cohabiting population aged 51 and older. Also, using HRS data, we estimated multinomial logistic regression models to identify the correlates associated with cohabitation and remarriage (vs being unpartnered) among women and men who were previously married.

RESULT

More than 1 million older adults, composing 4% of the unmarried population, currently cohabit. About 90% of these individuals were previously married. We identify significant differences among cohabitors, remarrieds, and unpartnereds across several dimensions, including sociodemographic characteristics, economic resources, physical health, and social relationships. Cohabitors appear to be more disadvantaged than remarrieds, and this is especially evident for women.

DISCUSSION

Older cohabitors differ from individuals of other marital statuses, and therefore future work on marital status should explicitly incorporate cohabitation.

The significance of nonmarital cohabitation: marital status and mental health benefits among middle-aged and older adults

OBJECTIVES

According to the 2000 Census, about 1.2 million persons over age 50 are currently cohabiting. Do these unmarried cohabiting partnerships provide adults with mental health benefits that are similar to those enjoyed by marrieds? We extended prior work on marital status and depression by including cohabitation in our conceptualization of marital status.

METHODS

We used data from the 1998 Health and Retirement Study (N = 18,598) to examine the relationship between marital status and depressive symptoms among adults over age 50. We also examined gender differences in this association.

RESULTS

We found that cohabitors report more depressive symptoms, on average, than do marrieds, net of economic resources, social support, and physical health. Additional analyses revealed that only among men do cohabitors report significantly higher depression scores. Cohabiting and married women as well as cohabiting men experience similar levels of depression, and all of these groups report levels that are significantly higher than married men's.

DISCUSSION

Our findings demonstrate the importance of accounting for nontraditional living arrangements among persons aged 50 and older. Cohabitation appears to be more consequential for men's than women's depressive symptoms.

Reexamining adaptation and the set point model of happiness: reactions to changes in marital status

According to adaptation theory, individuals react to events but quickly adapt back to baseline levels of subjective well-being. To test this idea, the authors used data from a 15-year longitudinal study of over 24.000 individuals to examine the effects of marital transitions on life satisfaction. On average, individuals reacted to events and then adapted back toward baseline levels. However, there were substantial individual differences in this tendency. Individuals who initially reacted strongly were still far from baseline years later, and many people exhibited trajectories that were in the opposite direction to that predicted by adaptation theory. Thus, marital transitions can be associated with long-lasting changes in satisfaction, but these changes can be overlooked when only average trends are examined.

Gender differences in the relationship between marital status transitions and life satisfaction in later life

This study examined life satisfaction among individuals who had undergone a transition in marital status and those whose marital status remained stable over a 7-year period. In particular, using data from a large-scale, longitudinal study we assessed life satisfaction as measured in 1983 and 1990 among 2,180 men and women between the ages of 67 and 102. Groups of individuals were identified on the basis of whether a spouse was present or absent at the two measurement points. This allowed for a classification of groups who experienced stability or transitions in marital status. Among those individuals whose marital status remained stable over the 7 years, women's life satisfaction declined and men's remained constant. Among those who experienced a transition--in particular, the loss of a spouse--a decline in life satisfaction was found for both men and women, decline being more predominant for men. In addition, men's life satisfaction increased over the 7-year period if they gained a spouse, whereas the same was not true for women. Generally, these findings imply that the relationship between marital status transitions or stability differs for men and women.