%0 Thesis %D 2003 %T How Do Negative Events Shape the Subsequent Work-Family Life Course? The case of involuntary versus voluntary retirement %A Dentinger, Emma %K Adult children %K Health Conditions and Status %K Retirement Planning and Satisfaction %X This dissertation examines whether it matters that someone retires voluntarily or involuntarily. Specifically, I investigate three possibilities for life after retirement: subsequent reemployment, divorce, ad major health problems (heart attacks and death). The question I address is: does knowing whether or not one retires voluntarily or involuntarily (due to health problems or downsizing, for example) aid in predicting any of those outcomes after retirement? Do these processes operate differently for various subgroups, such as by race and gender? To do this, I employ Cox event history techniques using the University of Michigan's 1992 - 1998 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). I find that men and women in their 50s, 60s and 70s who are forced to retire for job-related reasons between 1992 and 1998 are more likely to engage in post-retirement employment compared to those who voluntarily retire, adapting to this unexpected transition by re-engaging in the work role. In contrast, men and women who retire for health reasons during this time are less likely to engage in post-retirement employment (for women this is dependent on having a pension) and more likely to experience cumulative health disadvantage. However, men who retire involuntarily for health-related reasons (for their own health or a family member's) are also less likely to divorce post-retirement than are men who are voluntary retirees. Spousal influences, measured by marital status in the combined models and spousal characteristics among the married sample, appear to be significant factors in various ways. For example, women who are divorced, separated or widowed prior to retirement are more likely to re-engage in the work role, reflecting their generally weaker economic positions. Married and partnered men are more likely than single men to re-engage in paid work. I find no confirmation for the prediction that women's family circumstances, such as having a child living at home, are more consequential for their post-retirement experiences than men's family circumstances on their own experiences. Life post-retirement for both men, and women is affected by family influences about equally, albeit in different ways. %I Cornell University %8 2003 %G eng %U Database ID: DAI-A 64/09, p. 3496, Mar 2004 %4 Divorce %$ 12692 %! How Do Negative Events Shape the Subsequent Work-Family Life Course? The case of involuntary versus voluntary retirement