Health and Well-being Effects on Later-life Divorce and Subsequent Repartnering

Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green OH

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Health and Well-being Effects on Later-life Divorce and Subsequent Repartnering R15 Renewal Application Abstract Susan L. Brown and I-Fen Lin, PIs The gray divorce rate, which is the rate of divorce among those aged 50 and older, doubled between 1990 and 2015, rising from 5 to 10 divorces per 1,000 marrieds. More than 1 in 4 people who divorced in 2015 were ages 50+ compared with less than 1 in 10 in 1990. Few individuals who experience gray divorce subsequently repartner, signaling that many older adults who experience gray divorce could be vulnerable to social isolation because they lack a co-resident partner. Additional vulnerabilities include declines in psychological well-being as well as diminished economic resources following divorce. Consequently, we anticipate that intergenerational solidarity, which taps into affinity, transfers between generations, and contact and proximity, with adult children is pivotal to older adult adjustment to gray divorce. Through support and transfers, adult children may lessen the detrimental effects of gray divorce on older adult well-being, particularly for women who tend to have closer relationships with their children than men. We use prospective, longitudinal data from the 1998-2016 Health and Retirement Study to address three aims. First, we investigate how intergenerational solidarity changes following gray divorce and subsequent repartnering, accounting for pre-divorce levels and tracking both short- and long-term change with an emphasis on variation between mothers and fathers. Second, we examine how intergenerational solidarity is related to repartnering after gray divorce and evaluate whether this relationship differs for mothers and fathers. Third, we assess whether intergenerational solidarity is protective of parental health following gray divorce and consider whether the benefits are larger for mothers or fathers. Gray divorce is reshaping the aging experience for a growing share of individuals and their families. Society at large will need to respond to the shifting and potentially diminishing family resources and supports that are available to older adults. As such, this project aligns with the research priorities of the NIA described in its strategic plan for research on aging in the 21st century. This project fully incorporates two undergraduate and one graduate research assistant to expose students to all stages of the research process and enhance the BGSU research environment.