AbstractObjective: Building on the Theory of Dyadic Illness Man-agement, this paper addresses the correlates of silversplits—voluntary union dissolutions after age 50—amongmixed-gender couples in Europe focusing on the role ofpartners’ health status.Background: Family diversity at older ages is growing inwealthy countries, with late union dissolutions increasinglyoccurring through separation and divorce rather than wid-owhood. Nonetheless, the correlates of silver splits inEurope, particularly regarding health within couples,remain underexplored.Method: We utilized data from the European Survey ofHealth, Ageing, and Retirement (SHARE), spanningWaves 1 (2004–2005) to 9 (2021–2022), and employeddiscrete-time event-history analysis to model the risk of sil-ver splits, separately among couples aged 50–64 and 65+(N = 31,915 and 48,361 couple-years, respectively). Weinspected three health dimensions: self-rated health,Global Activity Limitations Index, depression.Results: We found a non-negligible and gendered associa-tion between health and union dissolution among couplesaged 50–64. Couples in which the woman reported poorself-rated health or faced severe activity limitations,whereas the man maintained good health, exhibited ahigher risk of silver splits compared to couples in goodhealth. Conversely, the risk of silver splits did not changesignificantly when the man experienced poor self-ratedhealth or activity limitations compared to couples in goodhealth. Results among older couples suggested that thehealth/silver split link weakens with age. Conclusion: Gendered health-related selection effects appear among older European couples, as men struggle more than women with a partner’s declining health, poten-tially jeopardizing the couple’s stability
Partners' health and silver splits in Europe: A gendered pattern?
Cecilia Tomassini
2025-01-01
Abstract
AbstractObjective: Building on the Theory of Dyadic Illness Man-agement, this paper addresses the correlates of silversplits—voluntary union dissolutions after age 50—amongmixed-gender couples in Europe focusing on the role ofpartners’ health status.Background: Family diversity at older ages is growing inwealthy countries, with late union dissolutions increasinglyoccurring through separation and divorce rather than wid-owhood. Nonetheless, the correlates of silver splits inEurope, particularly regarding health within couples,remain underexplored.Method: We utilized data from the European Survey ofHealth, Ageing, and Retirement (SHARE), spanningWaves 1 (2004–2005) to 9 (2021–2022), and employeddiscrete-time event-history analysis to model the risk of sil-ver splits, separately among couples aged 50–64 and 65+(N = 31,915 and 48,361 couple-years, respectively). Weinspected three health dimensions: self-rated health,Global Activity Limitations Index, depression.Results: We found a non-negligible and gendered associa-tion between health and union dissolution among couplesaged 50–64. Couples in which the woman reported poorself-rated health or faced severe activity limitations,whereas the man maintained good health, exhibited ahigher risk of silver splits compared to couples in goodhealth. Conversely, the risk of silver splits did not changesignificantly when the man experienced poor self-ratedhealth or activity limitations compared to couples in goodhealth. Results among older couples suggested that thehealth/silver split link weakens with age. Conclusion: Gendered health-related selection effects appear among older European couples, as men struggle more than women with a partner’s declining health, poten-tially jeopardizing the couple’s stabilityI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
