Spousal Loss and Health in Late Life

Abstract

Objectives: This study queries the linkage of older adults’ spousal loss to multiple dimensions of their health. Methods: Data are from the 2005-2006 National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, nationally representative of U.S. adults ages 57 to 85. Analyses examine associations of spousal loss and time since loss with multiple health dimensions. Results: Spousal loss is linked to a system of mental, social, behavioral, and biological issues, consistent with a stress-induced weathering process. Biological problems are more uniformly associated with women’s than men’s loss. While emotional sequelae may partially subside with time, a range of other outcomes remain worse even among individuals a decade or more past loss, than those with current partners. Discussion: Older adults’ spousal loss influences multiple dimensions of their health. Gender differences in biological linkages suggest women’s greater physiological vulnerability to this weathering event. Effects of loss are long term rather than transient, especially with biological conditions.