Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

For Better and for Worse: The Relationship Between Union Dissolution and Self-Assessed Health in European Panel Data

Pour le meilleur et pour le pire: la relation entre les dissolutions d’union et la santé perçue à partir des données d’un panel européen

  • Published:
European Journal of Population / Revue européenne de Démographie Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We investigate the association between union dissolution and self-assessed health in European panel data. Previous studies suggest that this association might be negative, yet it is unclear to what extent this reflects causation (an effect of union dissolution of health) and/or selection (an effect of health on union dissolution). We analyzed the relationship between self-assessed health and 3,894 union dissolutions in about 60,000 respondents aged 18–59 across eight waves of the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). Fixed-effect panel analyses show that the negative association between dissolution and self-assessed health is not due to a general negative effect of divorce on health. Rather, after union dissolution self-assessed health improves among some individuals, while for others it declines. Compared to being in a union continuously, union dissolution seems to cause increases and decreases in health. We also find evidence for a negative effect of self-assessed health on dissolution risks. This selection effect appears to be associated with being in poor self-assessed health for a prolonged period of time rather than by the immediate effect of a health decline. Our results support the idea that the association between union dissolution and self-assessed health is an outcome of both causation and selection and that the effect of union dissolution on self-assessed health is heterogeneous.

Résumé

Nous examinons l’association entre les dissolutions d’union et la santé perçue à partir de données d’un panel européen. Des études antérieures suggèrent que cette association pourrait être négative mais on ignore dans quelle mesure elle reflète une relation causale (l’impact du divorce sur la santé) et/ou un effet de sélection (l’impact de la santé sur le divorce). La relation entre la santé perçue et 3.894 divorces parmi environ 60.000 répondants âgés de 18 à 59 ans dans les huit vagues du Panel communautaire européen des ménages (European Community Household Panel (ECHP)) a été étudiée. Des analyses du panel utilisant des modèles à effets fixes montrent que l’association négative entre dissolution d’union et santé perçue n‘est pas la conséquence d’un effet général négatif du divorce sur la santé. Au contraire, après une dissolution d’union, la santé perçue s’améliore pour certains individus alors qu’elle se détériore pour d‘autres. Comparés à ceux qui restent en union, la dissolution d’union semble susciter une amélioration ou une dégradation de la santé. Nous trouvons également des preuves d’un impact négatif de la santé perçue sur les risques de dissolution. Cet effet de sélection semble être associé au fait d‘avoir connu une mauvaise santé perçue pendant une période de longue durée plutôt qu’à l’effet immédiat d’un déclin de l’état de santé. Nos résultats appuient l’idée que l’association entre la dissolution d’union et la santé perçue résulte tant d’un effet causal que d’un effet de sélection et que l’impact de la dissolution d’union est hétérogène.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. There are about 30–50 cases of divorce among men. This can be derived from Table 1 (p. 86).

  2. Because in the fourth wave of the ECHP (1997), the original ECHP surveys were ended in Germany and the United Kingdom, we use longitudinal panel data from the underlying country panel surveys (the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), respectively) from 1994 onwards.

References

  • Aassve, A., Betti, G., Mazzuco, S., & Mencarini, L. (2007). Marital disruption and economic well-being: A comparative analysis. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), 170(3), 781–799.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allison, P. D. (1984). Event history analysis: Regression for longitudinal event data (Vol. 46). Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P. R. (2000). The consequences of divorce for adults and children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62(4), 1269–1287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P. R. (2010). Research on divorce: Continuing trends and new developments. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 72(3), 650–666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P. R., & Hohmann-Marriott, B. (2007). A comparison of high- and low-distress marriages that end in divorce. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(3), 621–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P. R., & Spencer, J. (2010). Divorce in Europe and the United States: Commonalities and differences across nations. Family Science, 1(1), 2–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andreß, H.-J., Borgloh, B., Bröckel, M., Giesselmann, M., & Hummelsheim, D. (2006). The economic consequences of partnership dissolution—a comparative analysis of panel studies from Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Sweden. European Sociological Review, 22(5), 533–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aseltine, R. H., Jr, & Kessler, R. C. (1993). Marital disruption and depression in a community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 34(3), 237–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Avellar, S., & Smock, P. J. (2005). The economic consequences of the dissolution of cohabiting unions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(2), 315–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1991). A treatise on the family (Enl. ed. ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Behr, A., Bellgardt, E., & Rendtel, U. (2005). Extent and determinants of panel attrition in the European Community Household Panel. European Sociological Review, 21(5), 489–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benyamini, Y., & Idler, E. (1999). Community studies reporting association between self-rated health and mortality: Additional studies 1995–1998. Research on Aging, 21(3), 392–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benyamini, Y., Leventhal, E. A., & Leventhal, H. (1999). Self-assessments of health: What do people know that predicts their mortality? Research on Aging, 21(3), 477–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blekesaune, M. (2008). Partnership transitions and mental distress: Investigating temporal order. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70(4), 879–890.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Booth, A., Edwards, J. N., & Johnson, D. R. (1991). Social integration and divorce. Social Forces, 70(1), 207–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Booth, A., & Johnson, D. R. (1994). Declining health and marital quality. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56(1), 218–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brockmann, H., & Klein, T. (2004). Love and death in Germany: The marital biography and its effect on mortality. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 66(3), 567–581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carr, D., & Springer, K. W. (2010). Advances in families and health research in the 21st century. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 743–761.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clemenceau, A., & Verma, V. (1996). Methodology of the European Community Household Panel. Statistics in Transition, 2, 1023–1062.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeSalvo, K. B., Bloser, N., Reynolds, K., He, J., & Muntner, P. (2006). Mortality prediction with a single general self-rated health question. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21(3), 267–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dewilde, C. (2002). The financial consequences of relationship dissolution for women in Western Europe. In E. Ruspini & A. Dale (Eds.), The gender dimension of social change. The contribution of dynamic research to the study of women’s life courses (pp. 81–110). Bristol: Policy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eurostat. (1996). European Community Household Panel (ECHP): Survey methodology and implementation. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferraro, K. F., & Farmer, M. M. (1999). Utility of health data from social surveys: Is there a gold standard for measuring morbidity? American Sociological Review, 64(2), 303–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, T. F. C., De Graaf, P. M., & Kalmijn, M. (2005). Friendly and antagonistic contact between former spouses after divorce—patterns and determinants. Journal of Family Issues, 26(8), 1131–1163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halaby, C. N. (2004). Panel models in sociological research: Theory into practice. Annual Review of Sociology, 30, 507–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, Y. R., & Goldman, N. (1990). Mortality differentials by marital status: An international comparison. Demography, 27(2), 233–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, M. E., & Waite, L. J. (2009). Marital biography and health at mid-life. Journal of Health Social Behavior, 50(3), 344–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Idler, E. L., & Benyamini, Y. (1997). Self-rated health and mortality: A review of twenty-seven community studies. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 38(1), 21–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Idler, E. L., & Kasl, S. V. (1995). Self-ratings of health: Do they also predict change in functional ability? Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 50(6), S344–S353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, S. P. (2008). Marital splits and income changes over the longer term. Colchester: University of Essex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. (2005). Two-wave panel analysis: Comparing statistical methods for studying the effects of transitions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(4), 1061–1075.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, A. M., Koolman, X., & Rice, N. (2005). Health-related non-response in the BHPS and ECHP: Using inverse probability weighted estimators in nonlinear models. HEDG Working Paper 05/05. University of York.

  • Joung, I. M. A., Van de Mheen, H., Stronks, K., Van Poppel, F. W. A., & Mackenbach, J. P. (1998). A longitudinal study of health selection in marital transitions. Social Science and Medicine, 46(3), 425–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalmijn, M., & Broese van Groenou, M. (2005). Differential effects of divorce on social integration. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 22(4), 455–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalmijn, M., & Monden, C. W. S. (2006). Are the negative effects of divorce on well-being dependent on marital quality? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 68(5), 1197–1213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krause, N. M., & Jay, G. M. (1994). What do global self-rated health items measure? Medical Care, 32(9), 930–942.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lillard, L. A., & Waite, L. J. (1995). ‘Til death do us part—marital disruption and mortality. American Journal of Sociology, 100(5), 1131–1156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, H., & Umberson, D. J. (2008). The times they are a changin’: Marital status and health differentials from 1972 to 2003. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 49(3), 239–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz, F. O., Wickrama, K. A., Conger, R. D., & Elder, G. H., Jr. (2006). The short-term and decade-long effects of divorce on women’s midlife health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 47(2), 111–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lund, R., Holstein, B. E., & Osler, M. (2004). Marital history from age 15 to 40 years and subsequent 10-year mortality: A longitudinal study of Danish males born in 1953. International Journal of Epidemiology, 33(2), 389–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyngstad, T. H., & Jalovaara, M. (2010). A review of the antecedents of union dissolution. Demographic Research, 23, 257–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mastekaasa, A. (1994). Psychological well-being and marital dissolution. Journal of Family Issues, 15(2), 208–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mavaddat, N., Kinmonth, A. L., Sanderson, S., Surtees, P., Bingham, S., & Khaw, K. T. (2011). What determines Self-Rated Health (SRH)? A cross-sectional study of SF-36 health domains in the EPIC-Norfolk cohort. Journal of Epidemiology And Community Health, 65, 800–806.

    Google Scholar 

  • McHorney, C. A. (2000). Concepts and measurement of health status and health-related quality of life. In G. L. Albrecht, R. Fitzpatrick, & S. Scrimshaw (Eds.), Handbook of social studies in health and medicine (pp. 339–358). Thousand Oaks: Sage publications.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Milardo, R. M., & Allan, G. (2000). Social networks and marital relationships. In R. M. Milardo & S. Duck (Eds.), Families as relationships (pp. 117–134). Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mossey, J. M., & Shapiro, E. (1982). Self-rated health: A predictor of mortality among the elderly. American Journal of Public Health, 72(8), 800–808.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, A., & Liefbroer, A. C. (1997). Beyond marital status: Partner history and well-being in old age. Journal of Marriage and Family, 59(3), 687–699.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robine, J.-M., Jagger, C., & Group, T. E.-R. (2003). Creating a coherent set of indicators to monitor health across Europe. European Journal of Public Health, 13(suppl 1), 6–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sbarra, D. A., & Nietert, P. J. (2009). Divorce and death: Forty years of the Charleston Heart Study. Psychological Science, 20, 107–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Segerstrom, S. C., & Miller, G. E. (2004). Psychological stress and the human immune system: A meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry. Psychological Bulletin, 130(4), 601–630.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seltzer, J. A. (1991). Relationships between fathers and children who live apart: The father’s role after separation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 53(1), 79–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Syse, A., & Kravdal, Ø. (2007). Does cancer affect the divorce rate? Demographic Research, 16(15), 469–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Umberson, D. (1992). Gender, marital status and the social control of health behavior. Social Science and Medicine, 34(8), 907–917.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uunk, W. (2004). The economic consequences of divorce for women in the European Union: The impact of welfare state arrangements. European Journal of Population/Revue européenne de Démographie, 20(3), 251–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vandecasteele, L. (2010). Poverty trajectories after risky life course events in different European welfare regimes. European Societies, 12(2), 257–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wade, T. J., & Pevalin, D. J. (2004). Marital transitions and mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 45(2), 155–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waldron, I., Hughes, M. E., & Brooks, T. L. (1996). Marriage protection and marriage selection—prospective evidence for reciprocal effects of marital status and health. Social Science and Medicine, 43(1), 113–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, K. (2003). Has the future of marriage arrived? A contemporary examination of gender, marriage, and psychological well-being. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44(4), 470–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, K., & Dunne-Bryant, A. (2006). Divorce and adult psychological well-being: Clarifying the role of gender and child age. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 68(5), 1178–1196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, K., & Umberson, D. (2004). Marital status, marital transitions, and health: A gendered life course perspective. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 45(1), 81–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, S. E., & Waddoups, S. L. (2002). Good marriages gone bad: Health mismatches as a cause of later-life marital dissolution. Population Research and Policy Review, 21(6), 505–533.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wirtz, C., & Mejer, H. (2002). The European Community Household Panel (ECHP). Schmollers Jahrbuch, 122, 143–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, R. G., Goesling, B., & Avellar, S. (2007). The effect of marriage on health: A synthesis of recent research evidence. Washington: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organisation. (1996). Health interview surveys: Towards international harmonization of methods and instruments. Copenhagen: WHO.

  • Wu, Z., & Hart, R. (2002). The effects of marital and nonmarital union transition on health. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64(2), 420–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yorgason, J. B., Booth, A., & Johnson, D. (2008). Health, disability, and marital quality. Research on Aging, 30(6), 623–648.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Earlier versions were presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America (Washington), the Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (Manchester), and the Annual Meeting of the Dutch Sociological Association (Rotterdam). We are grateful to participants at these events, for comments and suggestions. We thank the reviewers and the editors of the European Journal of Population for their helpful suggestions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Christiaan W. S. Monden

  2. Department of Sociology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Wilfred J. G. Uunk

Authors
  1. Christiaan W. S. Monden
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wilfred J. G. Uunk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christiaan W. S. Monden.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Monden, C.W.S., Uunk, W.J.G. For Better and for Worse: The Relationship Between Union Dissolution and Self-Assessed Health in European Panel Data. Eur J Population 29, 103–125 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-012-9269-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-012-9269-y

Keywords

Mots-clés

Search

Navigation