%0 Journal Article %J SocArXiv Papers %D Forthcoming %T The Cost of Widowhood: A Matching Study of Process and Event %A Van Winkle, Zachary %A Thomas Leopold %K depression %K economic wellbeing %K life course %K Widowhood %X Widowhood is a common life transition entailing far-reaching consequences. We examine the consequences of widowhood in a novel way by assessing the consequences of bereavement for meaningful comparison groups allowing us to evaluate the impact of bereavement before and after the event. The analysis of the cost of widowhood for mental health and economic wellbeing focuses on two scenarios: unexpected and expected widowhood. The first scenario models a two-period process in which effects of widowhood occur only after the event. The second models a three-period process in which effects of widowhood also occur before spousal loss. US Health and Retirement Study data and a combination of random-coefficient modelling, propensity score matching, and regressions are used to estimate the consequences of widowhood from ten years before to six years after spousal loss. Results on mental health show a slow but full recovery for unexpected widowhood, but larger and lasting declines for expected widowhood. Findings on economic wellbeing show sizable losses for expected widowhood due to the economic cost of the pre-widowhood period. In sum, the impact of widowhood is smaller for unexpected compared to expected events. Our approach advances knowledge about spousal loss, but also research on life events more generally. %B SocArXiv Papers %G eng %R 10.31235/osf.io/t8jef %0 Journal Article %J Omega %D Forthcoming %T The Effects of Religiosity on Depression Trajectories After Widowhood. %A Hawes, Frances M %A Jane Tavares %A Corina R Ronneberg %A Miller, Edward Alan %K depression %K Depressive symptoms %K religiosity %K Social Support %K Widowhood %X

This longitudinal study analyzed data from the 2006-2016 waves of the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Trajectories of depression among older adults ≥ 50 years ( = 1254) were examined over time to explore patterns of depression among those entering widowhood and the potential impact of religiosity on depressive symptoms during various stages of widowhood. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis was used to examine the association between widowhood and depression and the role of religiosity as a moderator of this association. Older adults experienced a statistically significant increase in depressive symptomology after the onset of widowhood, and depressive symptomology decreased post widowhood, but did not return to pre-widowhood levels. Additionally, high religious service attendance and higher intrinsic religiosity were both associated with lower depressive symptomology. High religious service attendance moderated the relationship between widowhood and depression among widowed older adults living alone.

%B Omega %G eng %R 10.1177/00302228211051509 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Aging and Health %D Forthcoming %T Estimating the Sex Gap in Depression-Free Life Expectancy Among Widowed Americans Aged 50 and Older: An Application Using the Interpolated Markov Chain Approach. %A Feraldi, Alessandro %A Giudici, Cristina %A Brouard, Nicolas %K depression-free life expectancy %K multi-state life tables %K Sex differences %K Widowhood %X

OBJECTIVES: Using Interpolated Markov Chain software, we compare the length of life with and without depression among married individuals and widowers, and the related sex differences.

METHODS: We applied a multi-state life table approach to estimate depression-free life expectancy among recent cohorts of older married and widowed women and men in the United States, using data from the Health and Retirement Study over a 7-year period (2012-2018).

RESULTS: The study revealed that the difference in life expectancy between sexes widens in the context of widowhood. At age 50, the sex gap in depression-free life expectancy is 0.8 years among married people, whereas the gap almost doubles to 1.7 years among widowed people.

DISCUSSION: By quantifying disparities in the duration of life affected by depression between married and widowed women and men, policymakers could properly allocate resources specifically to address the mental health needs of these groups.

%B Journal of Aging and Health %P 8982643241233029 %G eng %R 10.1177/08982643241233029 %0 Journal Article %J Research on Aging %D 2023 %T How Do Marital Transitions Affect Self-Perceptions of Aging? %A Turner, Shelbie G %A Witzel, Dakota D %A Stawski, Robert S %A Hooker, Karen %K Divorce %K Marriage %K self-perceptions of aging %K Widowhood %X

OBJECTIVES: We analyzed whether marital status and experiences of marital loss or gain were associated with self-perceptions of aging (SPA), a major psychosocial mechanism of healthy aging.

METHOD: We used data from 7028 participants of the Health and Retirement Study. Participants reported their marital status and their positive and negative SPA on two occasions 4 years apart. We ran general linear models to analyze differences in SPA between men and women who remained married, became divorced or widowed, or remarried following divorce or widowhood.

RESULTS: Participants who experienced marital loss had lower positive SPA than participants who remained marred. Participants who experienced marital gain had lower negative SPA than participants who remained married. None of the associations differed between men and women.

DISCUSSION: Results suggest that it may not be marital status itself, but rather the transition into or out of marriage, that impacts how people appraise their own aging.

%B Research on Aging %G eng %R 10.1177/01640275221113219 %0 Web Page %D 2023 %T Support from others in stressful times can ease impact of genetic depression risk %A Gavin, Kara %K depression %K Polygenic risk score %K Social Support %K Widowhood %X Study in first-year doctors and recently widowed older adults shows greatest impact of social support in those with highest polygenic risk scores for depression %I Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan %C Ann Arbor, MI %G eng %U https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/support-others-stressful-times-can-ease-impact-genetic-depression-risk %0 Journal Article %J The Journals of Gerontology, Series B %D 2022 %T Change in Episodic Memory with Spousal Loss: The Role of Social Relationships. %A Hülür, Gizem %A Elayoubi, Joanne %A Nelson, Monica E %A William E. Haley %K Episodic Memory %K longitudinal %K Social Relationships %K Spousal loss %K Widowhood %X

OBJECTIVES: The spousal relationship is one of the most important social contexts in old age and the loss of a spouse/partner is associated with stress and cognitive decline. In the present study, we examined whether social relationships can buffer potential negative effects of spousal loss on cognition. We examined the role of social network, social activities, and perceived deficiencies in social relationships (loneliness).

METHOD: We used longitudinal data between 1998-2012 from 2,077 participants of the Health and Retirement Study, who had experienced spousal loss during the study period. Multilevel modeling was used to examine how time-varying indicators of social network, social activities, and loneliness were related to age-related trajectories of episodic memory prior to and after spousal loss. Analyses controlled for gender, race/ethnicity, education, time-varying functional health and being re-partnered/re-married.

RESULTS: Having children living within 10 miles and providing help to others buffered negative effects of widowhood on episodic memory. In addition, within-person increase in providing help to others buffered against decline in episodic memory after spousal loss. Having friends in the neighborhood, more frequent social visits, providing help to others, volunteering, and lack of loneliness were related to higher episodic memory, while having relatives in the neighborhood was related to lower episodic memory.

DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that social networks, social activities, and loneliness are related to levels of cognitive function at the time of spousal loss and that social relationships can buffer negative effects of spousal loss on cognitive function. Implications for future research are discussed.

%B The Journals of Gerontology, Series B %V 77 %P 683-694 %G eng %N 4 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbab231 %0 Journal Article %J Aging & Mental Health %D 2022 %T How widowhood status relates to engagement in advance care planning among older adults: does race/ethnicity matter? %A Shinae L Choi %A Su Hyun Shin %A Rebecca S Allen %K Advance care planning %K Advance directives %K Race/ethnicity %K Widowhood %X

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated whether and to what extent widowhood status is related to engagement in advance care planning (ACP), and further whether race/ethnicity moderated the relation.

METHODS: We analyzed a total of 11,257 older Americans from the Health and Retirement Study using random-effect regression models after controlling for covariates and year-fixed effects.

RESULTS: We found that both being a widow/widower ever and having been widowed for a longer period of time were associated with a higher probability of engagement in ACP. Specifically, we found that a one-year increase in the number of years since spousal death was associated with 1.02 ( < 0.05, 95% CI = 1.00, 1.03) changes in the odds ratios of informal ACP; however, inclusion of a quadratic term indicated that this association reversed after the peak. Moreover, our findings suggested a moderating effect of race/ethnicity on the relations of the length of time since spousal loss with engagement in ACP. Specifically, the odds of widowed non-Hispanic Blacks discussing with someone the care or medical treatment (informal ACP) and having a living will (formal ACP) were 0.96 ( < 0.05, 95% CI = 0.93, 1.00) and 0.88 ( < 0.05, 95% CI = 0.79, 0.97) times that of non-widowed non-Hispanic Whites. Compared with their non-Hispanic White counterparts, widowed non-Hispanic Blacks were less likely to engage in ACP, and the negative relations were exacerbated when they became widows/widowers.

CONCLUSION: We elaborated on these findings and discussed their implications for understanding the moderating effect of race/ethnicity on the relation between late-life widowhood and engagement in ACP. In order to develop programs that enhance engagement in ACP and reduce racial/ethnic disparities, research must incorporate intersectionality theory with attention to motivations and decision-making style among diverse widows/widowers. The findings from this study could help inform policy makers when developing public health programs and health care reimbursement programs that enhance engagement in ACP among widows/widowers.

%B Aging & Mental Health %V 26 %P 604-613 %G eng %N 3 %R 10.1080/13607863.2020.1867823 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of the American Geriatrics Society %D 2022 %T Incidence of potentially disruptive medical and social events in older adults with and without dementia. %A Hunt, Lauren J %A R Sean Morrison %A Gan, Siqi %A Espejo, Edie %A Katherine A Ornstein %A W John Boscardin %A Smith, Alexander K %K Dementia %K Hip fracture %K Pneumonia %K Widowhood %X

BACKGROUND: Potentially disruptive medical, surgical, and social events-such as pneumonia, hip fracture, and widowhood-may accelerate the trajectory of decline and impact caregiving needs in older adults, especially among people with dementia (PWD). Prior research has focused primarily on nursing home residents with dementia. We sought to assess the incidence of potentially disruptive events in community-dwelling people with and without dementia.

METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of participants aged 65+ enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study between 2010 and 2018 (n = 9346), including a subset who were married-partnered at baseline (n = 5105). Dementia was defined with a previously validated algorithm. We calculated age-adjusted and gender-stratified incidence per 1000 person-years and incidence rate ratios of: 1) hospitalization for pneumonia, 2) hip fracture, and 3) widowhood in people with and without dementia.

RESULTS: PWD (n = 596) were older (mean age 84 vs. 75) and a higher proportion were female (67% vs. 57%) than people without dementia (PWoD) (n = 8750). Age-adjusted incidence rates (per 1000 person-years) of pneumonia were higher in PWD (113.1; 95% CI 94.3, 131.9) compared to PWoD (62.1; 95% CI 54.7, 69.5), as were hip fractures (12.3; 95% CI 9.1, 15.6 for PWD compared to 8.1; 95% CI 6.9, 9.2 in PWoD). Point estimates of widowhood incidence were slightly higher for PWD (25.3; 95% CI 20.1, 30.5) compared to PWoD (21.9; 95% CI 20.3, 23.5), but differences were not statistically significant. The association of dementia with hip fracture-but not pneumonia or widowhood-was modified by gender (male incidence rate ratio [IRR] 2.24, 95% CI 1.34, 3.75 versus female IRR 1.31 95% CI 0.92,1.86); interaction term p = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS: Compared to PWoD, community-dwelling PWD had higher rates of pneumonia and hip fracture, but not widowhood. Knowing how often PWD experience these events can aid in anticipatory guidance and care planning for this growing population.

%B Journal of the American Geriatrics Society %V 70 %P 1461-1470 %G eng %N 5 %R 10.1111/jgs.17682 %0 Journal Article %J The Journals of Gerontology, Series B %D 2022 %T Marital Loss and Cognitive Function: Does Timing Matter? %A Zhang, Zhenmei %A Liu, Hui %A Zhang, Yan %K Cognition %K Divorce %K gender %K Timing of life course events %K Widowhood %X

OBJECTIVES: This study examines the association between age at marital loss (i.e., divorce or widowhood) and cognitive function in later life and whether the association differs by gender.

METHODS: We used mixed-effects models, drawing on longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2016). The analytical samples included older adults aged 51 and older who had ever been widowed (N=5,639 with 25,537 person-waves) or divorced (N=10,685 with 50,689 person-waves).

RESULTS: We find that those who were widowed at younger ages had lower cognitive function than their counterparts who were widowed at older ages, for both men and women, after controlling for covariates. Household income and health-related factors partially accounted for the positive association between age at widowhood and cognitive function. Those who divorced at younger ages also had lower cognitive function than their counterparts who divorced at older ages, but this association was only present among men, not women. Health-related factors partially accounted for the associations between age at divorce and cognitive function among men.

DISCUSSION: Findings highlight the importance of considering the role of timing of marital loss in cognitive health among older adults.

%B The Journals of Gerontology, Series B %V 77 %P 1916-1927 %G eng %N 10 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbac069 %0 Journal Article %J The International Journal of Aging and Human Development %D 2022 %T Marital Transitions, Change in Depressive Symptomology, and Quality of Social Relationships in Midlife and Older U.S. Adults: An Analysis of the Health and Retirement Study. %A Julia E Tucker %A Nicholas J Bishop %A Wang, Kaipeng %A Phillips, Farya %K depression %K Divorce %K marital transitions %K Mental Health %K Social Support %K Widowhood %X

Preventing negative health outcomes following marital transitions can promote personal recovery and well-being. We used the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) (2012, 2014) to test whether social relationship quality moderated the association between marital transition and change in depressive symptomology among U.S. adults aged 50 and older (n = 3,705). Marital status transitions between 2012 and 2014 included remained married/partnered, divorced/separated, and widowed. Depressive symptomology was measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale 8 Short Form (CES-D 8). Social support, social contact, and social strain were indicators of social relationship quality. Change in depressive symptomology was modeled using autoregressive multiple regression. Social relationship quality appeared to influence depressive symptomatology for those experiencing divorce/separation. Compared to individuals who remained married/partnered, depressive symptomatology in those experiencing separation/divorce decreased among those reporting low social support, increased among those reporting high social support, and increased among those who reported low social strain. Limitations and clinical implications are discussed.

%B The International Journal of Aging and Human Development %V 95 %P 349-371 %G eng %N 3 %R 10.1177/00914150211066551 %0 Journal Article %J Research on Aging %D 2022 %T Psychological and Physical Health in Widowhood: Does Marital Quality Make a Difference? %A Lee, Hyo Jung %A Sae Hwang Han %A Boerner, Kathrin %K Chronic conditions %K Depressive symptoms %K Marital quality %K Widowhood %X

We investigate how preloss marital quality is associated with changes in psychological distress and physical health among older widow(er)s. Using prospective data with a 2-year follow-up from the Health and Retirement Study, we selected 546 respondents who transitioned into widowhood. Respondents were classified as supportive, ambivalent, aversive, or neutral groups. The supportive and ambivalent group experienced greater increase in depressive symptoms compared to the aversive group, in widowhood. The aversive group showed greater increase in chronic conditions compared to the supportive group. Findings indicated that spousal loss may result in more psychological distress for those with supportive and ambivalent marital relationship. Yet, those with mostly negative accounts of their marriage may experience worsened physical health, albeit no increase in psychological distress. Understanding different benefits and challenges facing older individuals after a positive or negative marriage may help direct support and interventions efforts toward older couples during marriage and in widowhood.

%B Research on Aging %V 44 %P 54-64 %G eng %N 1 %R 10.1177/0164027521989083 %0 Journal Article %J The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry %D 2022 %T The Role of Purpose in Life in the Relationship between Widowhood and Cognitive Decline among Older Adults in the U.S. %A Su Hyun Shin %A Behrens, Emily A. %A Patricia Parmelee %A Kim, Giyeon %K Cognitive decline %K Purpose in life %K Widowhood %X Objectives The objective of this study was to examine the role of purpose in life in the relationship between widowhood and cognitive decline. Methods This study used a sample of 12,856 respondents (20,408 observations) collected from a national panel survey, the 2006-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), that sampled older adults aged 50 or older. The study estimated growth-curve models with years since spousal death, purpose in life, and interaction between the two to predict cognition using three measures—total cognition, fluid, and crystallized intelligence scores. We also estimated growth-curve models by sex, race/ethnicity, and education. Results While years since spousal death negatively correlated with cognition, purpose in life positively correlated with cognition. Furthermore, purpose in life had a moderating effect on the relationship between years since spousal death and cognition. This effect was found by using total cognition (coef.= 0.0515; z= 2.64; p<0.01) and fluid intelligence scores (coef.= 0.0576; z= 3.23; p<0.05). The same effects were salient among females (coef.= 0.0556; z= 2.19; p<0.05) Whites (coef.= 0.0526; z= 2.52; p<0.05), and older adults with more education (coef.= 0.0635; z= 2.10; p<0.05). Conclusions Higher purpose in life relates to the negative correlations between widowhood and cognition of older adults. Educational programs improving purpose in life are a possible avenue for reducing the adverse effect of widowhood on cognition and warrant future exploration. %B The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry %V 30 %P 383-391 %@ 1064-7481 %G eng %N 3 %R 10.1016/j.jagp.2021.07.010 %0 Journal Article %J Social Science & Medicine %D 2021 %T Marital loss and risk of dementia: Do race and gender matter? %A Zhang, Zhenmei %A Hui Liu %A Seung-won Emily Choi %K Dementia %K Divorce %K gender %K Income %K Marital Status %K race %K Widowhood %X

Recent studies have found that marital loss through divorce or widowhood is associated with a higher risk of dementia for older adults. However, whether these associations vary by race and gender is less clear. To address this gap, we drew upon longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (2000-2016) to investigate the association between marital loss and dementia risk, separately for non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks. We further examined gender variations in the link between marital loss and dementia risk within each racial group. Results from discrete-time event history models suggested that widowhood is significantly associated with a higher risk of dementia for both Whites and Blacks, controlling for basic demographic characteristics. However, while divorce is significantly associated with a higher risk of dementia for Blacks, the association is marginally significant (p < 0.1) for Whites. There are few significant gender variations in these associations except for the effect of divorce among Whites. Even after controlling for economic and health-related factors, we found that divorce is associated with a higher risk of dementia among White men but not among White women. Economic resources explain a significant portion of the association between widowhood and dementia risk, more so for Whites than for Blacks. Our findings call for more research into the pathways through which marital loss shapes the risk of dementia across racial and ethnic groups.

%B Social Science & Medicine %V 275 %P 113808 %G eng %R 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113808 %0 Journal Article %J Gerontologist %D 2021 %T Midlife Marital Dissolution and the Onset of Cognitive Impairment. %A Susan L. Brown %A Lin, I-Fen %A Vielee, Alyssa %A Kagan A Mellencamp %K Divorce %K health %K Marriage %K Social Support %K Widowhood %X

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Marital dissolution has become more common in midlife with the doubling of the divorce rate among middle-aged adults. Guided by the stress model that stipulates losing economic, social, and psychological resources lowers well-being, we posited that midlife adults who experienced divorce or widowhood were at greater risk of cognitive impairment than the continuously married. Subsequent repartnering was expected to negate the increased risk.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We used data from the 1998-2016 Health and Retirement Study to estimate discrete-time event history models using logistic regression to predict cognitive impairment onset for men and women.

RESULTS: Roughly 27% of men who experienced spousal death in midlife went on to experience mild cognitive impairment by age 65. For women, experiencing divorce or widowhood was associated with higher odds of cognitive impairment onset although these differentials were accounted for by economic, social, and psychological resources. Men and women who repartnered after marital dissolution did not appreciably differ from their continuously married counterparts in terms of their likelihoods of cognitive impairment onset.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: A stressful life event, midlife marital dissolution can be detrimental to cognitive well-being, placing individuals at increased risk of developing dementia in later life. The growing diversity of partnership experiences during the second half of life points to the continued importance of examining how union dissolution and formation shape health and well-being.

%B Gerontologist %V 61 %P 1085-1094 %G eng %N 7 %R 10.1093/geront/gnaa193 %0 Report %D 2021 %T Wealth Trajectories Across Key Milestones: Longitudinal Evidence from Life-Course Transitions %A Gopi Shah Goda %A Streeter, Jialu L. %K Disability %K Divorce %K Health Shocks %K Homeownership %K Marriage %K Retirement %K wealth trajectory %K Widowhood %X Wealth varies considerably across the population and changes significantly over the lifecycle. In this paper, we trace out trajectories of wealth across several key life milestones, including marriage, homeownership, childbirth, divorce, disability, health shocks, retirement and widowhood using multiple decades of longitudinal panel data. We estimate both changes over the ten-year period before and after each milestone and assess whether those changes occur gradually or sharply after the milestone. We find evidence of significant long-run increases in wealth associated with homeownership and retirement, and significant long-run reductions in wealth associated with divorce, health shocks, and disability. In general, these changes appear to occur gradually rather than immediately after the milestone. Our results also indicate a large degree of heterogeneity across demographics, socioeconomic status and risk protection from insurance. In particular, those with lower levels of socioeconomic status and those without access to risk protection experience smaller wealth gains (or larger wealth losses) following life-course transitions. These results identify populations and life stages where individuals are most vulnerable to large reductions in wealth. %B NBER Working Paper %I National Bureau of Economic Research %C Cambridge, MA %G eng %R 10.3386/w28329 %0 Report %D 2021 %T Wealth Trajectories Across Key Milestones: Longitudinal Evidence from Life-Course Transitions %A Gopi Shah Goda %A Streeter, Jialu L. %K childbirth %K Disability %K Divorce %K health shock %K Homeownership %K Marriage %K Retirement %K Wealth %K Widowhood %X Wealth varies considerably across the population and changes significantly over the lifecycle. In this paper, we trace out trajectories of wealth across several key life milestones, including marriage, homeownership, childbirth, divorce, disability, health shocks, retirement and widowhood using multiple decades of longitudinal panel data. We estimate both changes over the ten-year period before and after each milestone and assess whether those changes occur gradually or sharply after the milestone. We find evidence of significant long-run increases in wealth associated with homeownership and retirement, and significant long-run reductions in wealth associated with divorce, health shocks, and disability. In general, these changes appear to occur gradually rather than immediately after the milestone. Our results also indicate a large degree of heterogeneity across demographics, socioeconomic status and risk protection from insurance. In particular, those with lower levels of socioeconomic status and those without access to risk protection experience smaller wealth gains (or larger wealth losses) following life-course transitions. These results identify populations and life stages where individuals are most vulnerable to large reductions in wealth. %B NBER Working Paper %I National Bureau of Economic Research %C Cambridge, MA %G eng %R 10.3386/w28329 %0 Thesis %B Human Development and Family Studies %D 2020 %T Depression trajectories of older adults in the transition to widowhood %A Zhao, Feng %K depression %K Widowhood %X As a significant life event and a turning point in the life course, losing a spouse to death is one of the most stressful experiences that requires the most intense readjustment in life. The immediate psychological effects of spousal death are usually severe, and there might be a significant increase in depression level right after the death of the spouse. For most people, psychological distress usually resolves over time. For a small number of widowed adults, however, the impact of widowhood on emotional health and depression levels might last for years. Unlike most studies that use cross-sectional data to investigate the level of depression at a specific time point after the loss of a spouse, this study uses longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study to investigate the heterogeneity in the changes in depression level of widowed older adults (n = 446) over eight years before and after the death of a spouse. Continuously married adults (n = 1,611) were also included in the analysis as a comparison group. The study first compared the differences in characteristics at baseline and depression levels at four waves between widowed and continuously married adults using the χ2 test for independence and t-test. Then, paired-samples t-tests were conducted to compare five key continuous variables at baseline and immediate wave after for both widowed and continuously married adults. Next, a latent class growth analysis was conducted to identify possible depression trajectories of adults in both widowed and continuously married groups. I then compared differences across four trajectory groups for both widowed and continuously married adults. Finally, sequential multinomial logistic regressions were computed to identify demographic variables and contextual factors that differentiate respondents in distinct depression trajectory groups. The comparison between widowed adults and continuously married adults shows distinct group differences. Compared to continuously married adults, widowed adults were more likely to be older, female, non-White, and with lower socioeconomic status and worse health conditions. Furthermore, the widowed adults were less close with their spouse at baseline, and they reported lower scores on positive and higher scores on negative social support from various resources. The findings support the hypothesis that heterogeneity exists in the adjustments to the death of a spouse. Four groups of adults with distinct depression trajectories in widowhood were identified: “No Depression Group,” “Increasing Depression Group,” “Decreasing Depression Group,” and “Chronic Depression Group.” Except for education level, all the other demographic variables did not differentiate widowed adults from different depression trajectories. Furthermore, the findings show that health status, functional limitations, and negative social support could significantly differentiate widowed adults from distinct depression trajectories. The findings of this study deepen the understanding of distinct depression trajectories in the transition to widowhood and the effects of demographic variables and contextual factors on these depression trajectories. The findings are also of great significance for early professional intervention for adults experiencing increasing and chronic depression after the death of a spouse. In addition, to improve the quality of emotional support and avoid relationship strain, support for widowed adults should also focus on improving self-care and health promotion. This is especially essential for those who are initially in poor health and hence are most vulnerable to long-term and intense psychological distress. %B Human Development and Family Studies %I Iowa State University %C Ames, IA %V Doctor of Philosophy %G eng %U https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=9442&context=etd %0 Journal Article %J Demographic Research %D 2020 %T Life After Death: Widowhood and Volunteering Gendered Pathways Among Older Adults %A Bolano, Danilo %A Bruno Arpino %K Gender Differences %K Older Adults %K trajectories of social activities %K Volunteering %K Widowhood %X Background: Spousal loss is one of the most traumatic events an individual can experience. Studies on behavioral changes before and after this event are scarce. Objective: This study investigates gender differences in pathways of volunteering before and after transition to widowhood among older adults in the United States. Methods: We use longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study and estimate fixed-effect models with lags and leads to identify pathways of volunteering on a sample of 1,982 adults aged 50 and over. Results: The results show a U-shape pattern with a decline in volunteering activities before the death of the partner and then a slight process of adaptation and recovery. The process is strongly gendered with women considerably more resilient than men. Whether death was expected or not influences the effect of partner death on volunteering likely due to the pre-death burden of caregiving. Looking at the role of pre-death partner’s volunteering we found, for both genders, but especially for women, that the odds of volunteering increase (decrease) if the partner was (was not) volunteering (complementarity hypothesis). Contribution: Given the positive effects of volunteering both for the volunteer and the society as a whole, our findings contribute to the literature highlighting that critical family events may affect participation in society of older people and demonstrating the heterogeneity of the effects especially in terms of gender differences. %B Demographic Research %V 43 %P 581-616 %G eng %R 10.4054/DemRes.2020.43.21 %0 Journal Article %J Ageing and Society %D 2020 %T Life transitions and leisure activity engagement among older Americans: findings from a national longitudinal study %A Yura Lee %A Iris Chi %A Jennifer A Ailshire %K CAMS %K Leisure activities %K Life transitions %K Widowhood %X One of the major aspects of successful ageing is active engagement in later life. Retirement and widowhood are two significant life transitions that may largely influence leisure engagement patterns among older adults. Limited findings exist regarding the impact of life transitions on leisure activity engagement due to the scarcity of longitudinal data with repeated measurement of older individuals' leisure engagement. This study longitudinally examined changes in leisure activity engagement as influenced by retirement and widowhood using five waves of national panel data from the Health and Retirement Study and its supplementary Consumption and Activities Mail Survey. Multi-level modelling was conducted with retirement and widowhood status as time-varying variables. Socio-economic status, depressive symptoms, cognitive function, self-rated health and functional limitations were also included as time-varying and time-invariant covariates. Findings show that engagement in mental, physical, social and household activities significantly decreased during an eight-year period. Moreover, transition from working to retired status was associated with increased engagement in mental, social and household activities but decreased engagement in physical activities among men only. Transition from married to widowhood status was associated with decreased engagement in household activities among women only. Encouraging active leisure engagement among individuals who experience either or both life transitions may help maintain their health after transition. %B Ageing and Society %V 40 %P 537-564 %G eng %U https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ageing-and-society/article/life-transitions-and-leisure-activity-engagement-among-older-americans-findings-from-a-national-longitudinal-study/4660EFBC38391378EE45D4BDD860943E %N 3 %9 Journal %! Ageing and Society %R 10.1017/S0144686X18001101 %0 Journal Article %J The Journal of Gerontology, Series B %D 2020 %T The Roles of Marital Dissolution and Subsequent Repartnering on Loneliness in Later Life. %A Matthew R Wright %A Anna M Hammersmith %A Susan L. Brown %A Lin, I-Fen %K Cohabitation %K Divorce %K Remarriage %K Well-being %K Widowhood %X

OBJECTIVES: Loneliness in later life is associated with poorer health and higher risk of mortality. Our study assesses whether gray divorced adults report higher levels of loneliness than the widowed and whether social support or repartnership offset loneliness.

METHOD: Using data from the 2010 and 2012 Health and Retirement Study, we estimated ordinary least squares regression models for women (n = 2,362) and men (n = 1,127) to examine differences in loneliness by dissolution pathway (i.e., divorce versus widowhood), accounting for social support and repartnership.

RESULTS: Divorced men were lonelier than their widowed counterparts. Although social support reduced loneliness among men, the difference between the divorced and widowed persisted. Repartnership assuaged men's loneliness and reduced the variation between divorced and widowed men. Among women, the results did not reveal differences in loneliness for the divorced and widowed although social support and repartnership linked to less loneliness.

DISCUSSION: Later-life marital dissolutions increasingly occur through divorce rather than spousal death. Some older adults go on to form new partnerships. Our findings demonstrate the importance of gerontological research widening the lens beyond widowhood to consider the ramifications of later-life divorce and repartnership for well-being.

%B The Journal of Gerontology, Series B %V 75 %P 1796-1807 %G eng %N 8 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbz121 %0 Thesis %B Sociology %D 2020 %T Social Relationships as Resources in Later Life: The Dynamics of Structural and Functional Support %A Brittany M. King %K loss of driving %K Retirement %K Widowhood %X The field of sociology has long acknowledged the importance of social relationships. Some of the most well-known research in sociology on relationships stems from the foundational work of Durkheim (1951), who found those who were socially integrated were less likely to commit suicide than those who were socially isolated. Durkheim’s was among the first sociological studies to argue that social relationships are critical to health and wellbeing. Over the last several decades, scholars have begun to parse out casual explanations regarding social relationships and health (House, 1987; House, Landis, & Umberson, 1988; Siebert, Mutran, & Reitzes, 1999). Social support emerged as a key social resource protective of health, shown to be associated with adaptive behaviors, and a buffer to negative health outcomes (Cassel, 1976; Cobb, 1976). More recent sociological research has explored the relevance of social support at different phases of the life course, with a specific focus on later life (Krause, 2006; Pearlin et al., 2005) establishing older adults as proactive in managing their social network to fit their social needs (Carstensen, 1992; Rook, 2009; Streeter et al., 2019). This work acknowledges the contextual forces shaping social support (Elder et al., 2003; Moen & Hernandez, 2009) and shows that social support changes over the life course (Antonucci & Akiyama, 1987). Despite growing attention to social support in sociological research, there are several key gaps in current scholarship that can be addressed by looking to theories and research grounded in other disciplines. Although social support is typically treated as a stable resource (Norris & Kaniasty, 1996; Sarason et al., 1986), much like other resources, growing evidence suggests that social support changes throughout the life course and is likely to be influenced by important role losses and life transitions (Rook, 2009). Understanding the dynamic nature of social support is a necessary step for exploring how it serves as a resource for health. When individuals experience role losses or social losses in later life, the composition of one’s social network and frequency of interactions with others are likely to change (Antonucci et al., 2014; Antonucci & Akiyama, 1987; Carstensen, 1992; Pearlin, 2010; Rook, 2009). Sociology alongside scholarship in fields such as psychology, social work, public health, and economics collectively show that role losses related to driving cessation, retirement, widowhood in later life, and life are particularly likely to influence the composition, quality, and frequency of our social interactions and relationships (Chihuri et al., 2016; C. D. Lee & Bakk, 2001; Powers et al., 2014; Wrzus et al., 2013). Understanding the ways these kinds of life course changes relate to changes in our social relationships are critical to understanding how our health is subsequently affected. This dissertation aims to fill gaps in sociological scholarship about changes in dynamic social resources that occur during later life. Specifically, I examine changes to structural and functional support in association with three role losses that have been shown to have important health consequences in later life – the loss of driving (Study #1), retirement (Study #2), and widowhood (Study #3) – and whether the associations between these three role losses in later life and changes in social resources vary by race, class, gender, or marital status. The findings from this dissertation show that social relationships are both stable and dynamic resources in later life. Later life is associated with multiple stressful role losses, which each have the potential to impact our social relationships with children, relatives, and friends in unique ways. Evidence suggests that certain social locations are especially important in shaping whether functional and structural support changes in association with a role loss, particularly race (retirement and widowhood), class (widowhood), and marital status/household composition (driving cessation and retirement). %B Sociology %I Florida State University %C Tallahassee, FL %V Doctor of Philosophy %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Annals of Epidemiology %D 2020 %T Widowhood and Mortality: Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and the Role of Economic Resources %A Hui Liu %A Debra Umberson %A Minle Xu %K gender %K Mortality %K race-ethnicity %K Widowhood %X Purpose We examine widowhood effects on mortality across gender and race-ethnicity, with attention to variation in the mediating role of economic resources. Methods Data were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (1992-2016). The analytic sample included 34,777 respondents aged 51 and older who contributed 208,470 person-period records. Discrete-time hazard models were estimated to predict the odds of death among white men, black men, Hispanic men, white women, black women, and Hispanic women separately. Karlson–Holm–Breen analysis was conducted to examine the mediating role of economic resources across groups. Results Across all gender and racial-ethnic subgroups, widowhood effects on mortality were largest for Hispanic men. Black women and Hispanic women also suffered stronger effects of widowhood on mortality than white women. For both men and women, economic resources were an important pathway through which widowhood increased mortality risk for whites and blacks but not for Hispanics. Conclusions Findings highlight that gender and race-ethnicity intersect with widowhood status to disadvantage some groups more than others. It is important to explore the complex pathways that contribute to the higher mortality risk of racial-ethnic minorities, especially Hispanic men, following widowhood so that effective interventions can be implemented to reduce those risks. %B Annals of Epidemiology %V 45 %P 69-75.e1 %G eng %9 Journal %R 10.1016/j.annepidem.2020.02.006 %0 Journal Article %J The Gerontologist %D 2019 %T Depressive Symptoms and the Buffering Effect of Resilience on Widowhood by Gender %A Brittany M. King %A Dawn C Carr %A Miles G Taylor %K depression %K gender %K Gender Differences %K Widowhood %K Widows %X BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Spousal loss is a stressful life event that often results in significant depressive symptoms, with men often experiencing more significant depressive symptoms than women. Recent research suggests that psychological resilience may play a role in shaping how well people recover from the loss of a spouse. This study examined the moderating effect of resilience on widowhood in relation to changes in depressive symptoms for men and women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study used data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine a change in depressive symptoms for men and women who experience spousal loss compared to those who remain continuously married (N = 5,626). We used the Simplified Resilience Score, which is based on measures drawn from the psychosocial and lifestyle questionnaire. Ordinary least squares regression was used to assess depression following reported spousal loss for widows relative to their continuously married counterparts. RESULTS: Results show resilience moderated depressive symptoms following spousal loss, but these effects varied by gender. Resilience was significantly and negatively associated with depressive symptoms for married but not for widowed women. However, for widowed men, resilience was significantly and negatively associated with depressive symptoms, and a high resilience score buffered the effect of widowhood. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Our study suggests that having high levels of resilience prior to spousal loss may help offset persistent depressive symptoms, especially for men. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. %B The Gerontologist %V 59 %P 1122-1130 %G eng %U https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30247641 %R 10.1093/geront/gny115 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Health and Social Behavior %D 2019 %T Depressive symptoms following later-life marital dissolution and subsequent repartnering. %A Lin, I-Fen %A Susan L. Brown %A Matthew R Wright %A Anna M Hammersmith %K Depressive symptoms %K Divorce %K Family Roles/Relationships %K Marriage %K Widowhood %X The doubling of the divorce rate among individuals over age 50 during the past 20 years underscores the urgency of studying the consequences of gray divorce and subsequent repartnering for adult well-being. We filled this gap by using the 1998-to-2014 Health and Retirement Study to evaluate how the levels of depressive symptoms changed following gray divorce versus widowhood. Individuals who divorced or became widowed already had experienced higher levels of depressive symptoms before dissolution relative to those who remained married. Compared with those who became widowed, those who transitioned to divorce experienced a lower elevation and a shorter time to recovery in depressive symptoms. When repartnering, both groups experienced similar magnitudes of initial reduction and subsequent rates of increase. Both the negative consequences of marital dissolution and the beneficial effects of repartnership for mental health persisted for several years, although ultimately they reverted to their predissolution levels of depressive symptoms. %B Journal of Health and Social Behavior %G eng %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30957562?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1177/0022146519839683 %0 Journal Article %J Pharmacoeconomics %D 2019 %T An examination of downstream effects of bereavement on healthcare utilization for surviving spouses in a national sample of older adults. %A Katherine A Ornstein %A Melissa M Garrido %A Albert L Siu %A Bollens-Lund, Evan %A Rahman, Omari-Khalid %A Amy Kelley %K Bereavement %K Health Services Utilization %K Medicare claims %K Medicare linkage %K Medicare/Medicaid/Health Insurance %K Widowhood %X

BACKGROUND: While bereavement is associated with increased mortality, it is unclear how bereaved families utilize the healthcare system after the death of their loved ones.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the association between bereavement and healthcare expenditures for surviving spouses.

METHODS: We used data from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative cohort study of older adults linked to Medicare claims. We determined a spouse's total Medicare expenditures 2 years before and after their partner's death across six biennial interview waves. Using coarsened exact matching, we created a comparison group of non-bereaved dyads. Costs were wage index- and inflation-adjusted to 2017 dollars. We used generalized linear models and difference-in-differences (DID) analysis to calculate the average marginal effects of bereavement on Medicare spending by gender. We also examined subgroup differences based on caregiver status, cause of death, and length of terminal illness.

RESULTS: Our sample consisted of 941 bereaved dyads and a comparison group of 8899 matched dyads. Surviving female spouses (68% of the sample) had a $3500 increase in spending 2 years after death (p < 0.05). Using DID analyses, bereavement was associated with a $625 quarterly increase in Medicare expenditures over 2 years for women. There was no significant increase in post-death spending for male bereaved surviving spouses. Results were consistent for spouses who survived at least 2 years after the death of their spouse (70% of the sample) CONCLUSIONS: Bereavement is associated with increased healthcare spending for women regardless of their caregiving status, the cause of death, or length of terminal illness. Further study is required to examine why men and women have different patterns of healthcare spending relative to the death of their spouses.

%B Pharmacoeconomics %V 37 %P 585-596 %8 2019 Apr %G eng %N 4 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30864065?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1007/s40273-019-00787-4 %0 Report %D 2019 %T Why Has Poverty Declined for Widows? %A Alicia H. Munnell %A Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher %A Alice Zulkarnain %K Poverty %K Widowhood %X In the mid-1990s, the poverty rate for widows ages 65- 85 was 20 percent. Since then, it has dropped sharply. Why did this decline occur and will it continue? This brief, based on a recent paper, addresses these questions by exploring three factors that could have contributed to the decline.1 The first is the rise in women’s educational attainment. The second is the rise in women’s work experience. The third is shifting marriage patterns, with women of higher socioeconomic status (SES) now more likely to be married than their lower-SES counterparts. %I Center for Retirement Research at Boston College %G eng %U https://crr.bc.edu/briefs/why-has-poverty-declined-for-widows/ %0 Journal Article %J Gerontologist %D 2018 %T Adjustment to Widowhood and Loneliness Among Older Men: The Influence of Military Service. %A Dawn C Carr %A Urena, Stephanie %A Miles G Taylor %K Bereavement %K Depressive symptoms %K Loneliness %K Men's health %K Resilience %K Veterans %K Widowhood %X

Background and Objectives: Men are at higher risk of experiencing poorer adjustment to widowhood compared to women, a transition that is associated with increased loneliness. Military service may play an important role in how men process widowhood, particularly among current cohorts of older men. The present study explores whether military experiences relate to better adjustment to widowhood, that is, reduction of loneliness associated with widowhood for men. We examine (a) whether military experience, especially exposure to death, shapes changes in loneliness following widowhood relative to those without military experience, and (b) if any observed benefits of military experience are explained by greater social engagement.

Research Design and Methods: We use the Health and Retirement Study and linked Veterans Mail Survey to address respondents while they are continuously married (T1) and at widowhood four years later (T2) using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression. To address our hypotheses, we examine whether military experience without exposure to death, and/or military experience with exposure to death moderates the overall negative effect of widowhood for loneliness relative to civilians.

Results: There is a significantly lower level of loneliness among veterans with exposure to death relative to civilians who become widowed; however, veterans without exposure to death remain similar to civilian widowers. Social engagement does not explain the benefits associated with military exposures for widowers.

Discussion and Implications: Although exposure to death early in life is traumatic, our research suggests that such adversity within the specific context of the military may help enhance resilience during the transition to widowhood.

%B Gerontologist %V 58 %P 1085-1095 %G eng %N 6 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28977488?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1093/geront/gnx110 %0 Journal Article %J Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences %D 2018 %T Does Becoming A Volunteer Attenuate Loneliness Among Recently Widowed Older Adults? %A Dawn C Carr %A Ben Lennox Kail %A Matz-Costa, Christina %A Yochai Z Shavit %K Bereavement %K Depressive symptoms %K Loneliness %K Volunteerism %K Widowhood %X

Objectives: Loneliness is a significant public health concern, particularly for those who have lost a spouse through widowhood. This study examines whether becoming a volunteer at the time of widowhood is associated with reduction of these risks.

Method: A pooled sample of 5,882 married adults age 51+, drawn from the 2006-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, was used to estimate regression models of the relationship between becoming widowed (relative to staying continuously married) and loneliness, and whether the associated loneliness of having lost a spouse is moderated by starting to volunteer (<2 hr, 2+ hr/week).

Results: Our results show that for those who become widowed, loneliness is significantly higher than those who stay continuously married. However, starting to volunteer 2+ hr per week is related to attenuated loneliness among the widowed such that widows who volunteer at that intensity have levels of loneliness similar to those of continuously married individuals volunteering at the same intensity.

Discussion: This study suggests higher intensity volunteering may be a particularly important pathway for alleviating loneliness among older adults who have recently become widowed. Results are discussed in light of theory, future research, and potential interventions.

%B Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences %V 73 %P 501-510 %G eng %N 3 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28977483?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1093/geronb/gbx092 %0 Journal Article %J J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %D 2018 %T Later Life Marital Dissolution and Repartnership Status: A National Portrait. %A Susan L. Brown %A Lin, I-Fen %A Anna M Hammersmith %A Matthew R Wright %K Age Factors %K Aged %K Aged, 80 and over %K Divorce %K Female %K Humans %K Longitudinal Studies %K Male %K Marriage %K Middle Aged %K Socioeconomic factors %K Spouses %K United States %K Widowhood %X

OBJECTIVES: Our study compares two types of later life marital dissolution that occur after age 50-divorce and widowhood-and their associations with repartnership status (i.e., remarried, cohabiting, or unpartnered).

METHOD: We used data from the Health and Retirement Study to provide a portrait of later life divorce and widowhood for women and men. Next, we tested whether marital dissolution type is related to women's and men's repartnered status, distinguishing among remarrieds, cohabitors, and unpartnereds, net of key sociodemographic indicators.

RESULTS: Divorcees are more often repartnered through either remarriage or cohabitation than are widoweds. This gap persists among women net of an array of sociodemographic factors. For men, the differential is reduced to nonsignificance with the inclusion of these factors.

DISCUSSION: Later life marital dissolution increasingly occurs through divorce rather than widowhood, and divorce is more often followed by repartnership. The results from this study suggest that gerontological research should not solely focus on widowhood but also should pay attention to divorce and repartnering during later life.

%B J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %V 73 %P 1032-1042 %8 2018 Aug 14 %G eng %U http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/04/29/geronb.gbw051.abstract %N 6 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27131167?dopt=Abstract %4 Cohabitation/Divorce/Marriage/Remarriage/Widowhood %$ 999999 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbw051 %0 Newspaper Article %B The Ottawa Citizen %D 2018 %T Leaving Before The Party Ends: The widowhood effect, and the small hopes and major tragedies that shape us %A Deachman, Bruce %K Adversity %K Couples %K News %K Widowhood %B The Ottawa Citizen %C Ottawa %8 1/13/2018 %G eng %U http://ottawacitizen.com/health/seniors/deachman-the-widowhood-effect-or-knowing-when-to-leave-the-party %& D %0 Report %D 2018 %T What Factors Explain the Decline in Widows' Poverty? %A Alicia H. Munnell %K Education %K Poverty %K Social Security %K Socioeconomic factors %K Widowhood %X One of Social Security’s objectives is to ensure that vulnerable groups have adequate income in retirement. Historically, widows have been of particular concern for policymakers due to their high rates of poverty. However, over the past several decades, their poverty rate has fallen considerably. If it falls farther, widowhood may warrant lower placement on policymakers’ priority list. To understand why this decline has occurred and what this means for the future, this project uses the Health and Retirement Study linked to administrative earnings and benefit records. Specifically, the project focuses on three factors that could explain the decline in widows’ poverty: 1) women’s rising levels of education; 2) their increased attachment to the labor force; and 3) increasing marital “selection” – i.e., the notion that while marriage used to be equally distributed, it is becoming less common among those with lower socioeconomic status. The project explores what share of the decline in poverty can be explained by these factors and also projects the role of these factors in the future. The paper found that: The rise in education and labor force participation explain most of the decline in widows’ average poverty rate from 20 percent in 1994 to 13 percent in 2014.So far, marital selection has not been a driving force in the decline in widows’ poverty.The projections suggest that widows’ poverty will continue to fall over the next 15 years.In the future, up to half of this reduction could be explained by the increasing selection of women into marriage. The policy implications of the findings are: While the projected decline in widows’ poverty may allow policymakers to shift some of their focus to more vulnerable groups, widows will remain poorer than married women.Considering the effect on widows of any change that would bring fiscal balance to the Social Security program will continue to be important. %B Working Papers %I Center for Retirement Research at Boston College %C Boston, MA %P 2-21 %8 05/2018 %G eng %U http://crr.bc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/wp_2018-4.pdf %0 Journal Article %J The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy %D 2018 %T Widowhood and Retirement Timing: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study %A Schreiber, Philipp %K Life Expectancy %K Retirement Age %K Social Security %K Widowhood %X The combination of an increasing life expectancy, low fertility rates, and an early effective retirement age creates a pressure to act for governments and organizations. The pay-as-you-go social security systems of many countries are troubled by the increasing ratio of retirees to working people. In addition, many organizations face difficulties caused by a shrinking workforce and the accompanied shortage of skilled workers. To counteract, it is essential to create an environment in which older workers are encouraged to stay in the workforce. Therefore, it is important to understand which factors influence the retirement timing decision of workers. This study analyzes how widowhood and changes in demographic, health-related, and financial factors lead to changes in retirement plans of Health and Retirement Study (HRS) respondents. I compare respondents’ actual retirement age with their retirement plans elicited in the HRS wave prior to retirement. The strongest change in retirement timing is caused by widowhood. Respondents who become widowed retire on average 1.7 years earlier than previously planned. The estimated effect of widowhood goes beyond the deterioration of physical health and mental health. My findings suggest that an intervention in an early stage after widowhood by the employer or by health and social care services can help the widowed employee to overcome the temporary adverse effects of widowhood and to prevent a precipitous retirement decision. %B The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy %V 18 %8 Sep-06-2019 %G eng %U https://search.proquest.com/docview/2091249748/ED9FE239DE41490BPQ?accountid=14667 %N 3 %R 10.1515/bejeap-2017-0178 %0 Journal Article %J American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry %D 2018 %T Widowhood Status as a Risk Factor for Cognitive Decline among Older Adults. %A Su Hyun Shin %A Kim, Giyeon %A Park, Soohyun %K Bereavement %K Cognitive Ability %K Risk Factors %K Widowhood %X

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated whether widowhood status has an effect on cognitive decline among older adults in the United States.

DESIGN: Longitudinal analysis of existing secondary data.

SETTING: The 1996-2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 6,766 individuals (28,420 observations) aged 50 years and older who responded to all questions.

MEASUREMENTS: Widow/widower status, cognitive functioning score, and various covariates.

RESULTS: Growth-curve models show that after controlling for covariates, widowhood status was related to cognitive decline (95% CI: -0.8090, -0.4674). We also found a linear relationship between time since spousal loss and cognitive decline. Conditional upon spousal bereavement status, higher education and having at least one living sibling were found to be protective factors against cognitive decline.

CONCLUSIONS: Widowhood status accelerated cognitive decline over time among widowed older adults. Findings suggest that extra support is needed to monitor cognitive functioning for those experiencing widowhood.

%B American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry %V 26 %P 778-787 %8 07/2018 %G eng %N 7 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29748078?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.jagp.2018.03.013 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Pension Economics and Finance %D 2017 %T Early claiming of higher-earning husbands, the survivor benefit, and the incidence of poverty among recent widows %A Diebold, Jeffrey %A Jeremy G. Moulton %A John C. Scott %K Bereavement %K Social Security %K Widowhood %K Women and Minorities %X Social Security provides survivor benefits to lower-earning spouses of deceased workers entitled to a retirement benefit. The value of the survivor benefit depends on a number of factors including the deceased worker's claim age. We use the Health and Retirement Study and a discrete time hazard model to analyze how the claim age of married men influences the likelihood that their spouse will enter poverty in widowhood. We find that delayed claiming is associated with reduction in a widow's poverty risk. The magnitude of this relationship varies significantly with the claim age, Social Security dependence, and survivor benefit dependence. %B Journal of Pension Economics and Finance %V 16 %P 485-508 %G eng %U https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1474747215000438/type/journal_articlehttps://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1474747215000438 %N 4 %! Journal of Pension Economics and Finance %R 10.1017/S1474747215000438 %0 Journal Article %J Health Econ %D 2017 %T The Effect of Widowhood on Mental Health - an Analysis of Anticipation Patterns Surrounding the Death of a Spouse. %A Siflinger, Bettina %K Adaptation, Psychological %K Aged %K Bereavement %K Cause of Death %K Female %K Humans %K Interviews as Topic %K Male %K Mental Health %K Middle Aged %K Models, Econometric %K Qualitative Research %K Spouses %K Widowhood %X

This study explores the effects of widowhood on mental health by taking into account the anticipation and adaptation to the partner's death. The empirical analysis uses representative panel data from the USA that are linked to administrative death records of the National Death Index. I estimate static and dynamic specifications of the panel probit model in which unobserved heterogeneity is modeled with correlated random effects. I find strong anticipation effects of the partner's death on the probability of depression, implying that the partner's death event cannot be assumed to be exogenous in econometric models. In the absence of any anticipation effects, the partner's death has long-lasting mental health consequences, leading to a significantly slower adaptation to widowhood. The results suggest that both anticipation effects and adaptation effects can be attributed to a caregiver burden and to the cause of death. The findings of this study have important implications for designing adequate social policies for the elderly US population that alleviate the negative consequences of bereavement. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

%B Health Econ %V 26 %P 1505-1523 %8 2017 12 %G eng %U http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/hec.3443http://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fhec.3443 %N 12 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27747997?dopt=Abstract %! Health Econ. %R 10.1002/hec.3443 %0 Journal Article %J Soc Sci Med %D 2016 %T Marital history and survival after a heart attack. %A Matthew E Dupre %A Nelson, Alicia %K Aged %K Aged, 80 and over %K Cohort Studies %K Divorce %K Female %K Humans %K Male %K Marital Status %K Myocardial Infarction %K Prospective Studies %K Retrospective Studies %K Single Person %K Spouses %K Survivors %K United States %K Widowhood %X

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and nearly one million Americans will have a heart attack this year. Although the risks associated with a heart attack are well established, we know surprisingly little about how marital factors contribute to survival in adults afflicted with heart disease. This study uses a life course perspective and longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine how various dimensions of marital life influence survival in U.S. older adults who suffered a heart attack (n = 2197). We found that adults who were never married (odds ratio [OR] = 1.73), currently divorced (OR = 1.70), or widowed (OR = 1.34) were at significantly greater risk of dying after a heart attack than adults who were continuously married; and the risks were not uniform over time. We also found that the risk of dying increased by 12% for every additional marital loss and decreased by 7% for every one-tenth increase in the proportion of years married. After accounting for more than a dozen socioeconomic, psychosocial, behavioral, and physiological factors, we found that current marital status remained the most robust indicator of survival following a heart attack. The implications of the findings are discussed in the context of life course inequalities in chronic disease and directions for future research.

%B Soc Sci Med %V 170 %P 114-123 %8 2016 12 %G eng %U http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953616305810 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27770749?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.10.013 %0 Journal Article %J J Public Health (Oxf) %D 2014 %T Short- and long-term associations between widowhood and mortality in the United States: longitudinal analyses. %A J Robin Moon %A M. Maria Glymour %A Anusha M Vable %A Sze Y Liu %A S. V. Subramanian %K Bereavement %K Female %K Humans %K Longitudinal Studies %K Male %K Middle Aged %K Mortality %K Risk Factors %K Sex Factors %K Socioeconomic factors %K Time Factors %K United States %K Widowhood %X

BACKGROUND: Past research shows that spousal death results in elevated mortality risk for the surviving spouse. However, most prior studies have inadequately controlled for socioeconomic status (SES), and it is unclear whether this 'widowhood effect' persists over time.

METHODS: Health and Retirement Study participants aged 50+ years and married in 1998 (n = 12 316) were followed through 2008 for widowhood status and mortality (2912 deaths). Discrete-time survival analysis was used to compare mortality for the widowed versus the married.

RESULTS: Odds of mortality during the first 3 months post-widowhood were significantly higher than in the continuously married (odds ratio (OR) for men = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.27, 2.75; OR for women = 1.47, 95% CI: 0.96, 2.24) in models adjusted for age, gender, race and baseline SES (education, household wealth and household income), behavioral risk factors and co-morbidities. Twelve months following bereavement, men experienced borderline elevated mortality (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.35), whereas women did not (OR = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.90, 1.28), though the gender difference was non-significant.

CONCLUSION: The 'widowhood effect' was not fully explained by adjusting for pre-widowhood SES and particularly elevated within the first few months after widowhood. These associations did not differ by sex.

%B J Public Health (Oxf) %I 36 %V 36 %P 382-9 %8 2014 Sep %G eng %U http://jpubhealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/10/27/pubmed.fdt101.abstract %N 3 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24167198?dopt=Abstract %2 PMC4181424 %4 Widowhood/Spousal Loss/Mortality/Longitudinal Studies/Socioeconomic Status %$ 999999 %R 10.1093/pubmed/fdt101 %0 Journal Article %J J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %D 2011 %T Generational jeopardy? Parents' marital transitions and the provision of financial transfers to adult children. %A Shapiro, Adam %A R Corey Remle %K Adolescent %K Adult %K Adult children %K Aged %K Divorce %K Female %K Financial Support %K Humans %K Intergenerational Relations %K Male %K Marriage %K Middle Aged %K Prejudice %K Retirement %K Widowhood %K Young Adult %X

OBJECTIVES: Transitions into and out of marriage are becoming more commonplace among persons in middle and later life. We assess the extent to which parental marital transitions influence inter vivos financial transfers to adult children at the family level.

METHODS: Panel data from 6,017 households with adult children in the 1992-1998 waves of the Health and Retirement Study are analyzed in this study.

RESULTS: Net of familial characteristics, those families experiencing a parental marriage were less likely than stably married households to make a financial transfer to an adult child. The effects of divorce or widowhood were modest. Divorce was associated with a slight increase in the probability of providing a transfer. Widowhood was associated with a slight increase in the total amount transferred to children.

DISCUSSION: The study adds weight to the growing argument that marital transitions may alter intergenerational exchanges. The results prompt us to further question how broader demographic and marriage patterns will influence relationships between parents and children in aging societies.

%B J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %I 66 %V 66 %P 99-108 %8 2011 Jan %G eng %N 1 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20197303?dopt=Abstract %3 20197303 %4 Divorce/Family structure/Intergenerational exchange/Marriage/Widowhood/INTER-VIVOS TRANSFERS/INTERGENERATIONAL EXCHANGES/FAMILY-STRUCTURE/DIVORCE/RETIREMENT/SUPPORT/WIDOWHOOD/HEALTH/MIDLIFE %$ 25360 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbq010 %0 Journal Article %J Gerontologist %D 2010 %T The effects of positive and negative support from children on widowed older adults' psychological adjustment: a longitudinal analysis. %A Jung-Hwa Ha %K Adaptation, Psychological %K Aged %K Aged, 80 and over %K Female %K Humans %K Longitudinal Studies %K Male %K Middle Aged %K Parent-Child Relations %K Widowhood %X

PURPOSE: This article examines the extent to which positive and negative support from children prior to and after spousal loss and changes in support from pre- to post-loss affect widowed older adults' depressive symptoms, anxiety, and anger 18 months following widowhood.

DESIGN AND METHODS: Analyses are based on the Changing Lives of Older Couples, a prospective study of 1,532 married individuals aged 65 years and older. The analytic sample includes 148 widowed persons who have at least one living child and participated in the baseline and two follow-up interviews conducted 6 and 18 months following widowhood.

RESULTS: The analyses revealed that higher levels of positive support from children 6 months following widowhood were associated with fewer depressive symptoms at the 18-month follow-up, whereas higher levels of negative support 18 months after loss and a decrease in positive support following loss were associated with more depressive symptoms. Greater negative support both prior to and after loss was associated with greater anxiety, whereas greater negative support 6 months after loss and an increase in negative support following loss were related to greater anger.

IMPLICATIONS: Given their differential impact on widowed persons' psychological adjustment, both positive and negative aspects of social support as well as its changing nature should be considered in working with bereaved older adults.

%B Gerontologist %I 50 %V 50 %P 471-81 %8 2010 Aug %G eng %N 4 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20019179?dopt=Abstract %2 PMC2908534 %4 socioeconomic Status/Poverty/income/assets/Medical Expenditures/Public Policy/social Security %$ 23220 %R 10.1093/geront/gnp163 %0 Journal Article %J Gerontologist %D 2007 %T The economic consequences of widowhood for older minority women. %A Jacqueline L. Angel %A Maren A. Jimenez %A Ronald J. Angel %K Aged %K Black or African American %K Female %K Hispanic or Latino %K Humans %K Longitudinal Studies %K Middle Aged %K United States %K White People %K Widowhood %X

PURPOSE: We compare the economic consequences of widowhood for pre-retirement age and early-retirement age Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White women.

METHODS: We use the 1992 and 2000 waves of the Health and Retirement Study to assess the effects of widowhood on the household incomes and assets of non-Hispanic White, Black, and Hispanic women who were 51 years of age or older at baseline (N = 4,544).

RESULTS: For women of all racial and ethnic groups, marital disruption, including widowhood, results in a substantial decline in household income and assets. Net of demographic controls, the relative loss is far greater for Black and Hispanic widows than for non-Hispanic White widows.

IMPLICATIONS: The data reveal a substantial widowhood penalty for total household income and net worth for women in each racial and ethnic group. However, the findings suggest that minority widows are at a particularly high risk of poverty in late life, given that they have lower incomes and fewer assets to begin with. Implications of the results for the financial security of women approaching retirement are discussed.

%B Gerontologist %I 47 %V 47 %P 224-34 %8 2007 Apr %G eng %N 2 %L newpubs20070403_Angel_etal.pdf %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17440127?dopt=Abstract %4 Widowhood/Minorities/Assets/income %$ 17380 %R 10.1093/geront/47.2.224 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Psychiatry %D 1999 %T Conjugal loss and syndromal depression in a sample of elders aged 70 years or older. %A Carolyn L. Turvey %A Carney, C. %A Arndt, Stephan %A Robert B Wallace %A A. Regula Herzog %K Age Factors %K Aged %K Aged, 80 and over %K Bereavement %K Cohort Studies %K depression %K Depressive Disorder %K Female %K Humans %K Logistic Models %K Longitudinal Studies %K Male %K Marital Status %K Odds Ratio %K Psychiatric Status Rating Scales %K Risk Factors %K Sex Factors %K Widowhood %X

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to describe the association between conjugal loss and both syndromal depression and depressive symptoms in a prospective cohort study of people aged 70 years or older.

METHOD: A measure of syndromal depression, the shortform Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), and a revised version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies--Depression Scale (CES-D Scale) were administered to a group of 5,449 elders in a longitudinal cohort study. The authors compared the rates of syndromal depression (CIDI diagnosis) and depressive symptoms (six CES-D Scale symptoms) in married participants and those who lost spouses between the first and second waves of assessment.

RESULTS: The rate of syndromal depression in the newly bereaved was nearly nine times as high as the rate for married individuals, and the rate of depressive symptoms was nearly four times as high. The percentage of the bereaved respondents who had scores above threshold on the revised CES-D Scale was higher for those interviewed up to 2 years after loss of a spouse than for married respondents. Age, sex, prior psychiatric history, and the expectedness of the death did not differ between depressed and nondepressed newly bereaved subjects.

CONCLUSIONS: Recent bereavement is a significant risk factor for syndromal depression in the elderly. Some widows and widowers experienced high levels of depressive symptoms up to 2 years after the loss of their spouses. Neither demographic variables nor variables concerning the nature of the spouse's death predicted bereavement-related depression.

%B Am J Psychiatry %I 156 %V 156 %P 1596-601 %8 1999 Oct %G eng %N 10 %L pubs_1999_Turvey_CAJPsy.pdf %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10518172?dopt=Abstract %4 Age Factors/Aged, 80 and Over/Bereavement/Cohort Studies/Depression/Depressive Disorders/Logistic Models/Longitudinal Studies/Marital Status/Odds Ratio/Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/Risk Factors/Sex Factors/Support, U.S. Government--PHS/Widowhood %$ 4330 %R 10.1176/ajp.156.10.1596 %0 Journal Article %J Gerontologist %D 1996 %T Complex marital histories and economic well-being: the continuing legacy of divorce and widowhood as the HRS cohort approaches retirement. %A Karen C. Holden %A Kuo, H.H. %K Cross-Sectional Studies %K Divorce %K Female %K Humans %K Life Tables %K Male %K Middle Aged %K Poverty %K Retirement %K United States %K Widowhood %X

We use data from the first wave of the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) to examine the marital histories of this cohort of women and men on the verge of retirement. The legacy of past increases in divorce rates is evident in the complex marital histories of HRS households and the relationship between those histories and current economic status. Couples in a first marriage now make up only one-quarter of black households and fewer than half of all white and Hispanic households. In over one-third of all married-couple households, at least one spouse had a previous marriage that ended in divorce or widowhood. These couples have significantly lower incomes and assets than couples in first marriages. Contrary to the popular notion that private and public insurance better provide for the security of widows than divorced persons, currently widowed households and couples in which the prior marriage of one spouse had ended in widowhood are no better off than are their divorced peers. This holds true for both black and white households. From a single cross-section, one cannot tell what caused these differences in income and wealth across marital status groups although it is clear that women and blacks spend a higher percentage of their lifetime outside of marriage than do men and whites. We also speculate from estimates of widowhood expectations for a subset of married respondents that underestimating the chances of widowhood--because both men and women overestimate their chances of joint survival--may be a factor in the relatively low economic status of widows. Because couples in life-long marriages have been the traditional standard upon which marital property reform and the survivorship rules of private and public programs are based, their diminishing importance among all households raises concern about the protection provided by these institutions against the long-term economic consequences of past and future marital dissolution.

%B Gerontologist %I 36 %V 36 %P 383-90 %8 1996 Jun %G eng %N 3 %L pubs_1996_Holden_KGer.pdf %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8682336?dopt=Abstract %4 Cross Sectional Studies/Divorce/Female/Human/Life Tables/Middle Age/Poverty/Retirement/Support, Non U.S. Government/Support, U.S. Government--PHS/United States/Widowhood %$ 4175 %R 10.1093/geront/36.3.383