IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v62y2006i6p1427-1442.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Marital life course events and smoking behaviour in Sweden 1980-2000

Author

Listed:
  • Nystedt, Paul

Abstract

The protective effect of marriage on smoking has been extensively established in the literature. However, less is known about the dynamics of how smoking behaviour is connected to various marital life course events, and whether there are any gender discrepancies in this respect. In this article the connection between the marital life course and smoking is analysed from a stress-related perspective controlling for other socio-economic characteristics. We use information on 81,000 individuals from the Swedish longitudinal micro-level ULF (Survey of Living Conditions) database 1980-2000, which is randomly drawn from the sample population of all Swedes aged 16-84. Logistic regressions on current smoking status and changes in smoking behaviour of participants in the panel part of the data are estimated. The marital life course is strongly linked to smoking behaviour with being or getting married indicating low smoking risks and marital disruption indicating high risks. The divorced smoke to a higher extent than the widowed and there are signs that getting divorced implies higher risks than becoming widowed, both of taking up/relapsing and, for women, not being able to quit. Further, the results indicate that the connection between smoking cessation and living with a partner is stronger for men, whereas women are more affected by the propensity to start smoking after marital disruption. The protective effect of being married on smoking decreases with the age difference between spouses in households where the wife is older than the husband. Taken together, the results yield a rather complex pattern of smoking behaviour over the marital life course. Further, perceived financial stress is strongly connected to smoking and not being able to quit. Controlling for this effect still leaves a socio-economic status gradient in smoking.

Suggested Citation

  • Nystedt, Paul, 2006. "Marital life course events and smoking behaviour in Sweden 1980-2000," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(6), pages 1427-1442, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:62:y:2006:i:6:p:1427-1442
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(05)00426-0
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wagenknecht, L.E. & Burke, G.L. & Perkins, L.L. & Haley, N.J. & Friedman, G.D., 1992. "Misclassification of smoking status in the CARDIA study: A comparison of self-report with serum cotinine levels," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 82(1), pages 33-36.
    2. Gary R. Lee & Alfred DeMaris & Stefoni Bavin & Rachel Sullivan, 2001. "Gender Differences in the Depressive Effect of Widowhood in Later Life," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 56(1), pages 56-61.
    3. Litwin, Howard, 0. "Social network type and health status in a national sample of elderly Israelis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 46(4-5), pages 599-609, February.
    4. Colby Jr, John P. & Linsky, Arnold S. & Straus, Murray A., 1994. "Social stress and state-to-state differences in smoking and smoking related mortality in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 373-381, January.
    5. Royce, Jacqueline M. & Corbett, Kitty & Sorensen, Glorian & Ockene, Judith, 1997. "Gender, social pressure, and smoking cessations: The Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT) at baseline," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 359-370, February.
    6. Umberson, Debra, 1992. "Gender, marital status and the social control of health behavior," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 907-917, April.
    7. Escobedo, L.G. & Peddicord, J.P., 1996. "Smoking prevalence in US birth cohorts: The influence of gender and education," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 86(2), pages 231-236.
    8. Barbeau, E.M. & Krieger, N. & Soobader, M.-J., 2004. "Working Class Matters: Socioeconomic Disadvantage, Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Smoking in NHIS 2000," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(2), pages 269-278.
    9. Mercy, J.A. & Saltzman, L.E., 1989. "Fatal violence among spouses in the United States, 1976-85," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 79(5), pages 595-599.
    10. Lindbladh, Eva & Lyttkens, Carl Hampus, 2002. "Habit versus choice: the process of decision-making in health-related behaviour," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 451-465, August.
    11. Graham, Hilary, 1996. "Smoking prevalence among women in the European Community 1950-1990," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 243-254, July.
    12. Bartley, M & Martikainen, P & Shipley, M & Marmot, M, 2004. "Gender differences in the relationship of partner's social class to behavioural risk factors and social support in the Whitehall II study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(9), pages 1925-1936, November.
    13. Li, Guohua, 1995. "The interaction effect of bereavement and sex on the risk of suicide in the elderly: An historical cohort study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 825-828, March.
    14. Barbeau, E.M. & Krieger, N. & Soobader, M.-J., 2004. "Erratum: Working class matters: Socioeconomic disadvantage, race/ethnicity, gender, and smoking in NHIS 2000 (American Journal of Public Health (2004) 94 (296-278))," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(8), pages 1295-1295.
    15. Macintyre, Sally, 1992. "The effects of family position and status on health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 453-464, August.
    16. Greg Duncan & Saul Hoffman, 1985. "A reconsideration of the economic consequences of marital dissolution," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 22(4), pages 485-497, November.
    17. Grossman, Michael, 1972. "On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(2), pages 223-255, March-Apr.
    18. Eva Lindbladh & Carl Hampus Lyttkens, 2003. "Polarization in the Reaction to Health‐Risk Information: A Question of Social Position?," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(4), pages 841-855, August.
    19. Molarius, A. & Parsons, R.W. & Dobson, A.J. & Evans, A. & Fortmann, S.P. & Jamrozik, K. & Kuulasmaa, K. & Moltchanov, V. & Sans, S. & Tuomilehto, J. & Puska, P., 2001. "Trends in cigarette smoking in 36 populations from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s: Findings from the WHO MONICA Project," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 91(2), pages 206-212.
    20. Smith, J.C. & Mercy, J.A. & Conn, J.M., 1988. "Marital status and the risk of suicide," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 78(1), pages 78-80.
    21. Monden, Christiaan W. S. & van Lenthe, Frank & De Graaf, Nan Dirk & Kraaykamp, Gerbert, 2003. "Partner's and own education: does who you live with matter for self-assessed health, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(10), pages 1901-1912, November.
    22. Waldron, Ingrid, 1991. "Patterns and causes of gender differences in smoking," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 989-1005, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sergi Trias-Llimós & Magdalena M. Muszyńska & Antonio D. Cámara & Fanny Janssen, 2017. "Smoking cessation among European older adults: the contributions of marital and employment transitions by gender," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 189-198, June.
    2. Damien Bricard & Stéphane Legleye & Myriam Khlat, 2017. "Changes in Smoking Behavior over Family Transitions: Evidence for Anticipation and Adaptation Effects," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-10, June.
    3. Hillebrandt, Marc-André, 2022. "Impact of changes in relationship status on smoking behavior and body weight," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    4. Lim, Seungji & Chung, Woojin & Kim, Hanjoong & Lee, Sunmi, 2010. "The influence of housing tenure and marital status on smoking in South Korea," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 101-110, February.
    5. Riina Peltonen & Jessica Y. Ho & Irma T. Elo & Pekka Martikainen, 2017. "Contribution of smoking-attributable mortality to life-expectancy differences by marital status among Finnish men and women, 1971-2010," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(8), pages 255-280.
    6. Chung, Woojin & Lim, Seungji & Lee, Sunmi, 2010. "Factors influencing gender differences in smoking and their separate contributions: Evidence from South Korea," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 1966-1973, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Corinne Reczek & Hui Liu & Dustin Brown, 2014. "Cigarette Smoking in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Unions: The Role of Socioeconomic and Psychological Factors," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 33(4), pages 527-551, August.
    2. Cho, Hong-Jun & Khang, Young-Ho & Jun, Hee-Jin & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2008. "Marital status and smoking in Korea: The influence of gender and age," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 609-619, February.
    3. Espinosa, Javier & Evans, William N., 2008. "Heightened mortality after the death of a spouse: Marriage protection or marriage selection?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1326-1342, September.
    4. Lång, Elisabeth & Nystedt, Paul, 2018. "Blowing up money? The earnings penalty of smoking in the 1970s and the 21st century," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 39-52.
    5. Stuber, Jennifer & Galea, Sandro & Link, Bruce G., 2008. "Smoking and the emergence of a stigmatized social status," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 420-430, August.
    6. Harman, Juliet & Graham, Hilary & Francis, Brian & Inskip, Hazel M., 2006. "Socioeconomic gradients in smoking among young women: A British survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(11), pages 2791-2800, December.
    7. Dustin Brown & Robert Hummer & Mark Hayward, 2014. "The Importance of Spousal Education for the Self-Rated Health of Married Adults in the United States," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 33(1), pages 127-151, February.
    8. Dinno, Alexis & Glantz, Stanton, 2009. "Tobacco control policies are egalitarian: A vulnerabilities perspective on clean indoor air laws, cigarette prices, and tobacco use disparities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(8), pages 1439-1447, April.
    9. Missinne, Sarah & Colman, Elien & Bracke, Piet, 2013. "Spousal influence on mammography screening: A life course perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 63-70.
    10. Cinzia Novi & Rowena Jacobs & Matteo Migheli, 2020. "Smoking inequality across genders and socio-economic positions. Evidence from Italian data," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 177-203, October.
    11. Zang, Emma & Zheng, Hui, 2018. "Does the sex ratio at sexual maturity affect men's later-life mortality risks? Evidence from historical China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 61-69.
    12. Fujishiro, Kaori & Xu, Jun & Gong, Fang, 2010. "What does "occupation" represent as an indicator of socioeconomic status?: Exploring occupational prestige and health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(12), pages 2100-2107, December.
    13. Ribar, David C., 2004. "What Do Social Scientists Know About the Benefits of Marriage? A Review of Quantitative Methodologies," IZA Discussion Papers 998, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Weden, Margaret M & Astone, Nan M & Bishai, David, 2006. "Racial, ethnic, and gender differences in smoking cessation associated with employment and joblessness through young adulthood in the US," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 303-316, January.
    15. Fred Pampel & Justin Denney, 2011. "Cross-National Sources of Health Inequality: Education and Tobacco Use in the World Health Survey," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(2), pages 653-674, May.
    16. Lei Jin & Felix Elwert & Jeremy Freese & Nicholas Christakis, 2010. "Preliminary evidence regarding the hypothesis that the sex ratio at sexual maturity may affect longevity in men," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(3), pages 579-586, August.
    17. Wilson, Sven E., 2012. "Marriage, gender and obesity in later life," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 431-453.
    18. Maryam Dilmaghani, 2022. "The link between smoking, drinking and wages: Health, workplace social capital or discrimination?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 160-183, March.
    19. Jessica Ho & Irma Elo, 2013. "The Contribution of Smoking to Black-White Differences in U.S. Mortality," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(2), pages 545-568, April.
    20. Kilic, Dilek & Ozturk, Selcen, 2014. "Gender differences in cigarette consumption in Turkey: Evidence from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(2), pages 207-214.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:62:y:2006:i:6:p:1427-1442. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.