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Living alone and psychological well-being in mid-life: does partnership history matter?

Living alone and psychological well-being in mid-life: does partnership history matter?
Living alone and psychological well-being in mid-life: does partnership history matter?
Background

Previous studies have found that the duration since a union dissolution and the number of union dissolutions are associated with psychological well-being. However, these two aspects of partnership history have rarely been considered jointly in models of mental health. This study aims to investigate how the time since the most recent union dissolution and the number of union dissolutions are related to two indicators of psychological well-being—life satisfaction and the General Health Questionnaire—among middle-aged solo-living British men and women.

Methods

Data from the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study from 2009 to 2010 are analysed for 1201 50–64?year olds who were living alone and have ever been in a co-resident union (472 men and 729 women). Logistic regression analysis is used to investigate how life satisfaction and General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) caseness are associated with partnership characteristics.

Results

GHQ-12 caseness is significantly and positively associated with the number of union dissolutions and negatively with the duration since the most recent union dissolution. This is the case among both genders, in models in which these partnership characteristics are entered separately and jointly, and in models controlling for parenthood status, socioeconomic status and physical health.

Conclusions

The results suggest that there is a short-term deterioration in mental health after a partnership break-up and that experiencing multiple union dissolutions is detrimental for psychological well-being. The association between partnership characteristics and the two measures of psychological well-being differs, which is in line with previous research showing that negative affect and life satisfaction are two separate constructs.
0143-005X
403-410
Demey, Dieter
98bdaac3-ab8d-4985-b3e7-8b4824a4d867
Berrington, Ann
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Evandrou, Maria
cd2210ea-9625-44d7-b0f4-fc0721a25d28
Falkingham, Jane
8df36615-1547-4a6d-ad55-aa9496e85519
Demey, Dieter
98bdaac3-ab8d-4985-b3e7-8b4824a4d867
Berrington, Ann
bd0fc093-310d-4236-8126-ca0c7eb9ddde
Evandrou, Maria
cd2210ea-9625-44d7-b0f4-fc0721a25d28
Falkingham, Jane
8df36615-1547-4a6d-ad55-aa9496e85519

Demey, Dieter, Berrington, Ann, Evandrou, Maria and Falkingham, Jane (2014) Living alone and psychological well-being in mid-life: does partnership history matter? Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 68 (5), 403-410. (doi:10.1136/jech-2013-202932).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background

Previous studies have found that the duration since a union dissolution and the number of union dissolutions are associated with psychological well-being. However, these two aspects of partnership history have rarely been considered jointly in models of mental health. This study aims to investigate how the time since the most recent union dissolution and the number of union dissolutions are related to two indicators of psychological well-being—life satisfaction and the General Health Questionnaire—among middle-aged solo-living British men and women.

Methods

Data from the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study from 2009 to 2010 are analysed for 1201 50–64?year olds who were living alone and have ever been in a co-resident union (472 men and 729 women). Logistic regression analysis is used to investigate how life satisfaction and General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) caseness are associated with partnership characteristics.

Results

GHQ-12 caseness is significantly and positively associated with the number of union dissolutions and negatively with the duration since the most recent union dissolution. This is the case among both genders, in models in which these partnership characteristics are entered separately and jointly, and in models controlling for parenthood status, socioeconomic status and physical health.

Conclusions

The results suggest that there is a short-term deterioration in mental health after a partnership break-up and that experiencing multiple union dissolutions is detrimental for psychological well-being. The association between partnership characteristics and the two measures of psychological well-being differs, which is in line with previous research showing that negative affect and life satisfaction are two separate constructs.

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More information

Published date: 9 January 2014
Organisations: Faculty of Social, Human and Mathematical Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 360256
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/360256
ISSN: 0143-005X
PURE UUID: 3124e61a-fb5a-4447-b270-844881b5edf0
ORCID for Ann Berrington: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1683-6668
ORCID for Maria Evandrou: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2115-9358
ORCID for Jane Falkingham: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7135-5875

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Date deposited: 05 Dec 2013 11:20
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:24

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Contributors

Author: Dieter Demey
Author: Ann Berrington ORCID iD
Author: Maria Evandrou ORCID iD
Author: Jane Falkingham ORCID iD

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