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Marital Biography and Health in Old Age: Insights from European Survey Data

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Marital Biography and Health in Old Age: Insights from European Survey Data Marital Biography and Health in Old Age: Insights from European Survey Data Verfasserin: Johanna Veronika Schütz Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grads „doctor rerum politicarum“ (Dr. rer. pol.) an der Fakultät für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften der Universität Heidelberg Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Thomas Klein apl. Prof. Dr. Johannes Stauder Tag der Disputation: 19. Dezember 2018 Veröffentlichung: Februar 2019 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 6 I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ................................................................................................ 9 1. Marital Status and Health ............................................................................................................ 9 1.1. Sociological Theories .......................................................................................................... 9 1.1.1. Marriage Protection Theory ........................................................................................ 9 1.1.2. Stress Theory ............................................................................................................. 10 1.1.3. Marriage Selection Theory ........................................................................................ 11 1.1.4. Gender Differences .................................................................................................... 13 1.2. Psychological Theories: Marriage and Health in later Life ............................................... 15 1.2.1. Socioemotional Selectivity Theory ........................................................................... 15 1.2.2. Interdependence Theory ............................................................................................ 15 1.3. Biosocial Perspectives: Physiological Pathways of Marital Status ................................... 16 1.3.1. Social Regulation of Emotional Responding ............................................................ 16 1.3.2. Behavioural Endocrinology ....................................................................................... 17 1.3.3. Gene-Environment Interaction .................................................................................. 18 1.3.4. Disposable Soma Theory ........................................................................................... 19 1.3.5. Theories of Mental Health / Cognitive Function ....................................................... 19 2. Marital Biography and Health ................................................................................................... 21 2.1. Life Course Perspective ..................................................................................................... 21 2.2. Cumulative (Dis-)Advantage Theory ................................................................................ 23 2.3. Health Capital Theory ....................................................................................................... 23 II. LITERATURE REVIEW: Research on Marital Status Differences in Health ............................. 24 1. Studies with Focus on the Older Population ............................................................................. 24 2. Studies with Focus on Marital Biography ................................................................................. 26 3. Studies with Focus on Objective Health Measures ................................................................... 30 3.1. Specific Health Measures .................................................................................................. 31 3.2. Health Tests ....................................................................................................................... 32 4. Studies with Focus on Childhood Health Selection Effects ...................................................... 34 III. MARITAL BIOGRAPHIES OF OLDER EUROPEANS: Overview of Measures, Descriptive Findings, and Country Differences ....................................................................................................... 36 1. Dataset: Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) ................................. 36 2. Marital Status and Marital Biography Measures ....................................................................... 41 3. Country Differences .................................................................................................................. 44 3.1. Marital History Characteristics .......................................................................................... 44 3.1.1. Current Marital Status ............................................................................................... 44 3.1.2. Marital Status Biography ........................................................................................... 47 3.1.3. Marital Timing and Duration..................................................................................... 49 3.2. Non-marital Partnership Biographies ................................................................................ 53 3.3. Marriage and Partnership Quality ..................................................................................... 57 4. Marriage-related Legislation in SHARELIFE Countries .......................................................... 59 4.1. Divorce .............................................................................................................................. 59 4.2. Marriageable Age .............................................................................................................. 60 4.3. Same-Sex Marriage ........................................................................................................... 62 4.4. Cohabitation ...................................................................................................................... 62 IV. MARITAL STATUS AND PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE HEALTH OF OLDER EUROPEANS: Investigating the Role of Marital Biography ............................................................... 63 1. Early Life Health, the Marital Life Course and Health Outcomes in Old Age ......................... 63 1.1. Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 63 1.2. Measures and Methods ...................................................................................................... 64 1.2.1. Data Source and Study Variables .............................................................................. 64 1.2.2. Analytical Sample ..................................................................................................... 73 1.2.3. Analytical Strategy / Method..................................................................................... 76 1.3. Results ............................................................................................................................... 77 1.3.1. Current Marital Status and Health ............................................................................. 77 1.3.2. Marital Transitions and Health .................................................................................. 80 1.3.3. Marital Timing, Durations and Health ...................................................................... 84 1.3.4. Marriage Quality and Health ..................................................................................... 89 1.3.5. The Never Married: Non-marital Partnership Biography and Health ....................... 92 1.3.6. Robustness Checks for Test Performance Inability ................................................... 95 1.4. Summary of Results and Discussion ................................................................................. 97 2. Marital Status Transition in Later Life and Health: Exploring Trajectories of Widowhood .. 102 2.1. Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 103 2.2. Measures and Methods .................................................................................................... 105 2.1.1. Analytical Strategy / Method................................................................................... 105 2.1.2. Data Source and Study Variables ............................................................................ 106 2.1.3. Analytical Sample ................................................................................................... 107 2.3. Results ............................................................................................................................. 110 2.3.1. Physical and Cognitive Functioning after Death of a Spouse ................................. 110 2.3.2. The Role of Marital Biography ............................................................................... 114 2.3.3. Robustness Checks for Grip Strength Test Performance Inability .......................... 117 2.4. Summary of Results and Discussion ............................................................................... 118 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 122 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................. 127 Lists of Figures and Tables ............................................................................................................
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