In Sickness and in Health? Physical Illness as a Risk Factor for Marital Dissolution in Later Life

TitleIn Sickness and in Health? Physical Illness as a Risk Factor for Marital Dissolution in Later Life
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2015
AuthorsKarraker, A, Latham, K
JournalJournal of Health and Social Behavior
Volume56
Issue1
Pagination59-73
KeywordsAdult children, Health Conditions and Status, Net Worth and Assets
Abstract

The health consequences of marital dissolution are well known, but little work has examined the impact of health on the risk of marital dissolution. In this study we use a sample of 2,701 marriages from the Health and Retirement Study (1992-2010) to examine the role of serious physical illness onset (i.e., cancer, heart problems, lung disease, and/or stroke) in subsequent marital dissolution due to either divorce or widowhood. We use a series of discrete-time event history models with competing risks to estimate the impact of husband's and wife's physical illness onset on risk of divorce and widowhood. We find that only wife's illness onset is associated with elevated risk of divorce, while either husband's or wife's illness onset is associated with elevated risk of widowhood. These findings suggest the importance of health as a determinant of marital dissolution in later life via both biological and gendered social pathways.

Notes

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DOI10.1177/0022146514568351
Endnote Keywords

marital Dissolution/health Shocks/physical illness onset/Divorce/Widowhood

Endnote ID

999999

Citation Key8306