TitleHow Do Marital Transitions Affect Self-Perceptions of Aging?
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2022
AuthorsTurner, SG, Witzel, DD, Stawski, RS, Hooker, K
JournalRes Aging
Pagination1640275221113219
Date Published07/2022
ISSN1552-7573
Abstract

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.

DOI10.1177/01640275221113219
Alternate JournalRes Aging
PubMed ID35815741