© 1998 by Oxford University Press
DIVORCE, CURRENT MARITAL STATUS AND WELL-BEING IN AN ELDERLY POPULATION
1 Centre for Family Research, Free School Lane, University of Cambridge Cambridge CB2 3RF
2 Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge
3 Department of Community Medicine, University of Cambridge
4 Centre for Ageing and Rehabilitation Studies, School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield
Using a British sample of 2,041 individuals aged sixty-five and over, we describe the prevalence of divorce and remarriage in the sample and investigate housing, social integration, health and well-being in relation to earlier divorce and current marital status. The sample is confined to the relatively healthy section of the population living in the community and excludes those who are moderately to severely mentally and/or physically frail. Just over 9 per cent of the respondents had been divorced, of whom almost two-thirds had remarried. We found a clear association between experience of an earlier divorce and reduced likelihood of home-ownership for both men and women. There was no indication that the experience of divorce is associated with longterm effects on health in this relatively healthy section of the population. However, further investigation using samples fully representative of the elderly population is required to settle this issue. Divorce was associated with lower levels of social engagement and life satisfaction, but not for those people who were currently remarried. Relatively low percentages of men who had experienced divorce and had not married reported no lack of perceived social support. However, this association between an earlier divorce and perceived social support was not statistically significant. The group with the lowest level of perceived social support were men who had always remained single.
Key Words: Divorce • ageing • marital status • health • perceived social support • social engagement • life satisfaction