Marital biography and health in middle and late life.

Abstract

10 a long tradition of research has found that being married is associated with better mental health, lower rates of chronic illness, fewer functioning problems and disabilities, and longer life expectancy in the United states (pienta, Hayward, & Jenkins, 2000;Umberson, thomeer, & Williams, 2013;Waite & gallagher, 2000). More recent research on marriage and health has suggested that health is influenced not only by current marital status but also by marital history (dupre & Meadows, 2007;Hughes & Waite, 2009;Zhang & Hayward, 2006). growing interest in how cumulative marital history, or marital biography, impacts health in later life can be attributed both to substantial changes in american family life over the past few decades and to the growing prominence of the life course perspective in health research. this this research was supported in part by an nICHd center grant to the population studies Center at the University of Michigan (r24 Hd041028) and a national Institute on aging grant (K01ag043417, principal investigator, Hui liu). We are grateful to n. e. Barr for editorial assistance.

Marriage, Cohabitation, and Divorce in Later Life

“…The gap between the married and never-married has shrunk for men and the negative health outcomes associated with marital disruption are more severe, particularly among women ( Liu & Umberson, 2008 ). These findings challenge the marital resources model which stipulates that marriage provides spouses with psychological, economic, and social benefits that should enhance well-being ( Zhang et al, 2016 ) and longevity ( Dupre et al, 2009 ). Likewise, there are notable differentials by gender and race in the benefits of marriage with men and Whites typically enjoying more advantages than women and non-Whites, although the gender differential may be attenuating ( Carr & Springer, 2010 ).…”

“…Despite similar education levels, poverty is four times higher among unmarried than married boomers, and disability is twice as high ( Lin & Brown, 2012 ). Economic disadvantage combined with potentially fewer sources of social support leave unmarried older adults particularly vulnerable in the event of a health crisis ( Zhang, Liu, & Yu, 2016 ). With fewer boomers having a spouse, it is unclear who will provide care to them as they experience health declines.…”

“…As the family life course experiences of older adults become more varied, it is important to move beyond current marital status. Other factors, such as prior marital transitions, their timing, the duration of time spent in particular marital statuses, and the sequencing of these transitions combine to shape health and well-being ( Cooney & Dunne 2001 ; Hughes & Waite, 2009 ; Reczek, Pudrovska, Carr, Thomeer, & Umberson, 2016 ; Zhang et al, 2016 ). Marital dissolution, for instance, has enduring negative effects on individual health in midlife, even for those who remarry.…”

“…Consistent with the cumulative disadvantage perspective, dissolutions appear to have additive negative effects on health, as individuals who experience two divorces fare worse, on average, than those who only divorce once ( Dupre, Beck, & Meadows, 2009 ; Zhang, 2006 ). Moreover, the negative health effects of divorce are not necessarily immediately apparent and can emerge years later ( Hughes & Waite, 2009 ), reinforcing the stress model perspective that stipulates marital dissolution is a stressful life event that often involves enduring, chronic strains which take a toll on health ( Zhang et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Marital benefits are contingent on marital quality with the greatest gains accruing to those with the happiest marriages. In poorer quality marriages, the health benefits are often negligible or even negative compared to the alternative of getting divorced ( Zhang et al, 2016 ). Marital strain exacerbates the decline in self-rated health that typically occurs over time, and this effect is larger at older ages ( Umberson, Williams, Powers, Liu, & Needham, 2006 ).…”