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Marital dissolution and self-rated health: Age trajectories and birth cohort variations

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  • Liu, Hui

Abstract

A life course perspective is used to explore the effects of divorce and widowhood on self-rated health across age and birth cohorts. Growth curve analysis of a fifteen-year longitudinal survey – Americans’ Changing Lives (ACL), conducted by the Institute for Social Research in the United States between 1986 and 2001 (House, 2002) suggests that although the continuously divorced and widowed exhibit similar health trajectories as the continuously married across age and birth cohorts, there are significant age and birth cohort differences in the effects of transitions to divorce and widowhood on self-rated health. Specifically, the health penalty of the transition to divorce is more apparent for the 1950s than the 1940s birth cohort; and it is stronger at younger than older adulthood especially in the more recent birth cohort. The health penalty of the transition to widowhood is more apparent for the 1910s than the 1920s birth cohort; and it is stronger at older than younger adulthood especially for the earlier birth cohort. These results reflect birth cohort differences in the process of aging and/or in the experience of marital dissolution.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Hui, 2012. "Marital dissolution and self-rated health: Age trajectories and birth cohort variations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(7), pages 1107-1116.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:74:y:2012:i:7:p:1107-1116
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.11.037
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    Cited by:

    1. Anne-Lise Biotteau & Carole Bonnet & Emmanuelle Cambois, 2019. "Risk of Major Depressive Episodes After Separation: The Gender-Specific Contribution of the Income and Support Lost Through Union Dissolution," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(3), pages 519-542, July.
    2. Hui Liu & Zhenmei Zhang, 2013. "Disability Trends by Marital Status Among Older Americans, 1997–2010: An Examination by Gender and Race," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 32(1), pages 103-127, February.
    3. Minna Genbäck & Nawi Ng & Elena Stanghellini & Xavier de Luna, 2018. "Predictors of decline in self-reported health: addressing non-ignorable dropout in longitudinal studies of aging," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 211-220, June.
    4. Alice Zulkarnain & Sanders Korenman, 2019. "Divorce and health in middle and older ages," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1081-1106, December.
    5. Yang, Fang & Gu, Danan, 2021. "Widowhood, widowhood duration, and loneliness among older adults in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    6. Li, Qin & Smith, James P. & Zhao, Yaohui, 2023. "Understanding the effects of widowhood on health in China: Mechanisms and heterogeneity," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    7. Jolidon, Vladimir, 2022. "Gender inequality and mammography screening: Does living with a partner improve women's mammography uptake?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    8. Johannes Schuenemann & Holger Strulik & Timo Trimborn, 2020. "The Marriage Gap: Optimal Aging and Death in Partnerships," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 36, pages 158-176, April.
    9. Jennifer Kohn & Susan Averett, 2014. "Can’t We Just Live Together? New Evidence on the Effect of Relationship Status on Health," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 295-312, September.
    10. Bina Knöpfli & Stéphane Cullati & Delphine S. Courvoisier & Claudine Burton-Jeangros & Pasqualina Perrig-Chiello, 2016. "Marital breakup in later adulthood and self-rated health: a cross-sectional survey in Switzerland," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 61(3), pages 357-366, April.
    11. Ryan J Gamba & Cindy W Leung & Lucia Petito & Barbara Abrams & Barbara A Laraia, 2019. "Sugar sweetened beverage consumption during pregnancy is associated with lower diet quality and greater total energy intake," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-13, April.
    12. Kohn, Jennifer L. & Averett, Susan L., 2014. "The effect of relationship status on health with dynamic health and persistent relationships," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 69-83.
    13. Woojin Chung & Roeul Kim, 2014. "Does Marriage Really Matter to Health? Intra- and Inter-Country Evidence from China, Japan, Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(8), pages 1-10, August.
    14. Newton, Nicky J. & Ryan, Lindsay H. & King, Rachel T. & Smith, Jacqui, 2014. "Cohort differences in the marriage–health relationship for midlife women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 64-72.
    15. Nicolas Sirven, 2012. "On the Socio-Economic Determinants of Frailty: Findings from Panel and Retrospective Data from SHARE," Working Papers DT52, IRDES institut for research and information in health economics, revised Dec 2012.
    16. Sun, Yu & You, Wen, 2018. "Health effects associated with marital status transition among elders in China," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274173, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Kenneth Couch & Christopher Tamborini & Gayle Reznik, 2015. "The Long-Term Health Implications of Marital Disruption: Divorce, Work Limits, and Social Security Disability Benefits Among Men," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(5), pages 1487-1512, October.
    18. Qian Song, 2017. "Aging, and separation from children: The health implications of adult migration for elderly parents in rural China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(55), pages 1761-1792.
    19. Cullati, Stéphane, 2014. "The influence of work-family conflict trajectories on self-rated health trajectories in Switzerland: A life course approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 23-33.
    20. Liu, Hui & Umberson, Debra, 2015. "Gender, stress in childhood and adulthood, and trajectories of change in body mass," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 61-69.
    21. Zhang, Zhenmei & Liu, Hui & Choi, Seung-won Emily, 2021. "Marital loss and risk of dementia: Do race and gender matter?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).

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