Later‐Life Marriage

Abstract

With the aging of the population and increased life expectancy in western societies, there has been growing research interest in the period of late adulthood, which can span several decades. That life stage is characterized by three major events that can affect the individual as well as the marital unit: decline in health, retirement from work, and entry into the role of grandparent or sometimes even great‐grandparent. The following main aspects of the dyadic unit are emphasized here in light of their relevance to late adulthood: caregiving, satisfaction with marriage and quality of marital life, power relations, and the division of household tasks.

The Differences in Role Division Between Partners in Long-term Marriages and Their Well-being

“…Over the course of years, these tasks tend to burden the wife, increasing her desire for equality and affecting her behavior accordingly. Kulik's (2003) findings demonstrate that elderly couples' relationships tend to be meaningful and fairly egalitarian, and that the partners tend to share similar attitudes regarding role division and distribution of power within the household. Kulik considered this phenomenon to be an outcome of the time factor.…”