Repartnering in Later Life: The Role of Divorce, Widowhood, and Gender in Assortative Mating

• In Event: 067 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 08. Creating and Maintaining Social Connection across the Life Course

Abstract

Past studies of romantic partnerships have emphasized the important role that homogamy plays in supporting relationship stability. In light of high rates of union dissolution and repartnering, a number of studies have used social learning theory and marriage market theory to investigate whether higher order partnerships are more or less homogamous than the former relationships. This study extends past literature by examining subsequent partnerships formed by older adults. Investigating homogamy in relationships formed later in life is important because of the unique marital biographies of older adults, which encompass both voluntary (divorce) and involuntary (widowhood) exits from former unions as well as shifting dynamics of gender in later life. Using data from the 1992 to 2012 Health and Retirement Study, we investigate whether partnerships formed in later life are more or less homogamous than former partnerships and if the type of union dissolution and gender are related to relationship homogamy. Preliminary analyses suggest that subsequent relationships formed later in life are less homogamous across dissolution types for both men and women. For the next step, we plan to conduct more nuanced analyses using log-linear modeling strategies.

Authors

• Anna Marie Hammersmith, Bowling Green State University

• I-Fen Lin, Bowling Green State University