Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Union Formation in Later Life: Economic Determinants of Cohabitation and Remarriage Among Older Adults

  • Published:
Demography

Abstract

This study builds on Becker’s and Oppenheimer’s theories of union formation to examine the economic determinants of marriage and cohabitation during older adulthood. Based on the 1998–2006 Health and Retirement Study and a sample of previously married Americans who are at least 50 years old, results show that wealthier older adults, regardless of gender, are more likely to repartner than stay single. Wealth has no discernable effect on the likelihood of remarrying versus cohabiting. Among the oldest men, the positive associations between wealth and repartnering are entirely due to housing assets. Results suggest that Oppenheimer’s theory of marriage timing may be more applicable to later-life union formation than Becker’s independence hypothesis. Further, economic disadvantage does not appear to characterize later-life cohabitation, unlike cohabitation during young adulthood. These findings help illuminate the union formation process during older adulthood and are timely considering demographic changes reshaping the American population.

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
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. For example, the sample would include persons who were married in 1998 and divorced in 1999, but exclude those who divorced in 1989 and remarried in 1996. Consequently, the sample tends to exclude high-risk cases (younger, male, employed, and divorced) while overrepresenting low-risk cases (older, female, widowed, and retired).

  2. Respondents remain in the sample until they remarry, cohabit, or are censored because of attrition or death. Most variables have no more than 4%–5% missing data in any given wave. About 3% and 11% of cases have indeterminate marital statuses and dates of most recent marriage, respectively. Multiple imputation is used to replace missing data. Respondents do not contribute any data to the analysis for rounds in which they are not interviewed.

  3. Because cohabitation is less normative among older adults than younger ones, cohabitation may be underreported.

  4. Persons with higher incomes likely have more wealth. Wealth and income are only weakly correlated, though (.13).

  5. Financial transfer and income provision may be correlated, but modeling them separately did not change the results. These measures may be endogenous as well. One potential solution is to lag the transfer and provision variables. Doing so changed results slightly but introduced problems with interpretation and precision. I show results using nonlagged variables.

  6. Cell sizes for disaggregated racial/ethnic categories are too small to yield reliable estimates. The aggregated racial/ethnic measure preserves cell sizes but also masks variation in union formation.

  7. Another solution is discarding left-truncated data (Allison 1982). In supplemental analyses, I tried excluding persons who were single for more than 30 years, 20 years, or 10 years. More restrictive exclusions (i.e., 10 years) reduced sample sizes and thus changed parameter estimation somewhat.

  8. Resources could also change because of retirement. Rather than separate models by age, I tried including a series of dummy variables for labor force participation (e.g., full-time employment, fully or partially retired, any employment). I also tried redefining the age cutoff at 62 (to capture early retirees). None of the dummy variables reached statistical significance, and results from the “early retiree” model did not differ from those presented here.

  9. The percentage of older women in the labor force differs by age. About 11% of women 65 and older are employed (whether part or full time), whereas 58% of their younger counterparts are employed.

References

  • Allison, P. D. (1982). Discrete-time methods for the analysis of event histories. Sociological Methodology, 13, 61–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Beel-Bates, C. A., Ingersoll-Dayton, B., & Nelson, E. (2007). Deference as a form of reciprocity among residents in assisted living. Research on Aging, 29, 626–643.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S. L. (2000). Union transitions among cohabitors: The role of relationship assessments and expectations. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 833–846.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S. L., Bulanda, J. R., & Lee, G. R. (2005). The significance of nonmarital cohabitation: Marital status and mental health benefits among middle-aged and older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 60B, S21–S29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S. L., Lee, G. R., & Bulanda, J. R. (2006). Cohabitation among older adults: A national portrait. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 61B, S71–S79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bulcroft, R. A., & Bulcroft, K. A. (1991). The nature and functions of dating in later life. Research on Aging, 13, 244–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bulcroft, K. A., & O’Conner, M. (1986). The importance of dating relationships on quality of life for older persons. Family Relations, 35, 397–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burch, T. K., & Matthews, B. J. (1987). Household formation in developed societies. Population and Development Review, 13, 495–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carr, D. (2004). The desire to date and remarry among older widows and widowers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 1051–1068.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheal, D. J. (1983). Intergenerational family transfers. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 45, 805–813.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cherlin, A. (2004). The deinstitutionalization of American marriage. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 848–861.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chevan, A. (1996). As cheaply as one: Cohabitation in the older population. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 656–667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarkberg, M. (1999). The price of partnering: The role of economic well-being in young adults’ first union experiences. Social Forces, 77, 945–968.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooney, T. M., & Dunne, K. (2001). Intimate relationships in later life: Current realities, future prospects. Journal of Family Issues, 22, 838–858.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooney, T. M., & Hogan, D. P. (1991). Marriage in an institutionalized life course: First marriage among American men in the twentieth century. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 178–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cready, C. M., Fossett, M. A., & Kiecolt, K. J. (1997). Mate availability and African American family structure in the U.S. nonmetropolitan South, 1960–1990. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59, 192–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, K. (2002). Gender differences in new partnership choices and constraints for older widows and widowers. Ageing International, 27(4), 43–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Jong Gierveld, J. (2002). The dilemma of repartnering: Considerations of older men and women entering new intimate relationships in later life. Ageing International, 27(4), 61–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Jong Gierveld, J. (2004). Remarriage, unmarried cohabitation, living apart together: Partner relationships following bereavement or divorce. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 236–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Jong Gierveld, J., & Peeters, A. (2003). The interweaving of repartnered older adults’ lives with their children and siblings. Ageing and Society, 23, 187–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Leonardo, M. (1987). The female world of cards and holidays: Women, families, and the work of kinship. Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 12, 440–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dixon, R. B. (1971). Explaining cross-cultural variations in age at marriage and proportions never marrying. Population Studies, 25, 215–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitch, C., Goeken, R., & Ruggles, S. (2005, March–April). The rise of cohabitation in the United States: New historical estimates. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Population Association of America, Philadelphia, PA.

  • Franks, M. M., Wendorf, C. A., Gonzalez, R., & Ketterer, M. (2004). Aid and influence: Health promoting exchange of older married partners. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21, 431–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, N., Korenman, S., & Weinstein, R. (1995). Marital status and health among the elderly. Social Science & Medicine, 40, 1717–1730.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, N., Westoff, C. F., & Hammerslough, C. (1984). Demography of the marriage market in the United States. Population Index, 50(1), 5–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldscheider, F. K., & Waite, L. J. (1986). Sex differences in the entry into marriage. The American Journal of Sociology, 92, 91–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grundy, E. (2001). Living arrangements and the health of older persons in developed countries. Population Bulletin of the United Nations, 42(43), 311–329.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo, G. (1993). Event-history analysis for left-truncated data. Sociological Methodology, 23, 217–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haskey, J. (2001). Cohabitation in Great Britain. An examination of past, present and future trends and attitudes. Population Trends, 103, 4–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatch, R. G. (1995). Aging and cohabitation. New York: Garland Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hays, J. (2002). Living arrangements and health status in later life: A review of recent literature. Public Health Nursing, 19, 136–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hogan, D. P., Eggebeen, D. J., & Clogg, C. C. (1993). The structure of intergenerational exchanges in American families. The American Journal of Sociology, 98, 1428–1458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karlsson, S. G., & Borell, K. (2005). A home of their own: Women’s boundary work in LAT-relationships. Journal of Aging Studies, 19, 73–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, V., & Scott, M. E. (2005). A comparison of cohabiting relationships among older and younger adults. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 271–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koskinen, S., Joutsenniemi, K., Martelin, T., & Martikainen, P. (2007). Mortality differences according to living arrangements. International Journal of Epidemiology, 36, 1255–1264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kung, H.-C., Hoyert, D. L, Xu, J., & Murphy, S. L. (2008). Deaths: Final data for 2005 (National Vital Statistics Reports Vol. 56, No. 10). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.

  • Lee, G. R., Willetts, M. C., & Seccombe, K. (1998). Widowhood and depression: Gender differences. Research on Aging, 20, 611–630.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, I. (2004). Living apart together: A new family form. Current Sociology, 52, 223–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lichter, D. T., LeClere, F. B., & McLaughlin, D. K. (1991). Local marriage markets and the marital behavior of black and white women. The American Journal of Sociology, 96, 843–867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lichter, D. T., McLaughlin, G. K., Kephart, G., & Landry, D. J. (1992). Race and the retreat from marriage: A shortage of marriageable men? American Sociological Review, 57, 781–799.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manzoli, L., Villari, P., Pirone, G., & Boccia, A. (2007). Marital status and mortality in the elderly: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 64, 77–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, J. (1996). Gender, care, and sensibility in family and kin relationships. In J. Holland & L. Akins (Eds.), Sex, sensibility, and the gendered body (pp. 15–36). London, UK: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGarry, K., & Schoeni, R. F. (2000). Social security, economic growth, and the rise of widows’ independence in the twentieth century. Demography, 37, 221–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin, D. K., & Lichter, D. T. (1997). Poverty and the marital behavior of young women. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59, 582–594.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNamee, S. J., & Miller, R. K., Jr. (1998). Inheritance and stratification. In R. K. Miller Jr. & S. J. McNamee (Eds.), Inheritance and wealth in America (pp. 193–213). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, L. A. (1982). Social roles in later life. In C. Eisdorfer (Ed.), Annual review of gerontology and geriatrics (Vol. 3, pp. 55–79). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moustgaard, H., & Martikainen, P. (2009). Nonmarital cohabitation among older Finnish men and women: Socioeconomic characteristics and forms of union dissolution. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 64B, 507–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nock, S. (1995). A comparison of marriages and cohabiting relationships. Journal of Family Issues, 16, 53–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oppenheimer, V. K. (1988). A theory of marriage timing. The American Journal of Sociology, 94, 563–591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oppenheimer, V. K. (1994). Women’s rising employment and the future of the family in industrial societies. Population and Development Review, 20, 293–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oppenheimer, V. K. (1997). Women’s employment and the gains to marriage: The specialization and trading model of marriage. Annual Review of Sociology, 23, 431–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oppenheimer, V. K. (2003). Cohabiting and marriage during young men’s career-development process. Demography, 40, 127–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oppenheimer, V. K., Kalmijn, M., & Lim, N. (1997). Men’s career development and marriage timing during a period of rising inequality. Demography, 34, 311–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oppenheimer, V. K., & Lew, V. (1995). American marriage formation in the 1980s: How important was women’s economic independence? In K. O. Mason & A.-M. Jensen (Eds.), Gender and family change in industrialized countries (pp. 105–138). Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pezzin, L. E., & Schone, B. S. (1999). Parental marital disruption and intergenerational transfers: An analysis of lone elderly parents and their children. Demography, 36, 287–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pyke, K. D. (1999). The micropolitics of care in relationships between aging parents and adult children: Individualism, collectivism, and power. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 661–672.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raley, K. (1996). A shortage of marriageable men? A note on the role of cohabitation in black-white differences in marriage rates. American Sociological Review, 61, 973–983.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez, L., Manning, W., & Smock, P. (1998). Sex-specialized or collaborative mate selection: Union transitions among cohabitors. Social Science Research, 27, 280–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sassler, S., & Goldscheider, F. (2004). Revisiting Jane Austen’s theory of marriage timing: Union formation among men in the late 20th century. Journal of Family Issues, 25, 139–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sassler, S., & McNally, J. (2003). Cohabiting couples’ economic circumstances and union transitions: A re-examination using multiple imputation techniques. Social Science Research, 32, 533–578.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sassler, S., & Schoen, R. (1999). The effect of attitudes and economic activity on marriage. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 147–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, K. R., Zick, C. D., & Duncan, G. J. (1991). Remarriage patterns among recent widows and widowers. Demography, 28, 361–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smock, P. J., & Manning, W. D. (1997). Cohabiting partners’ economic circumstances and marriage. Demography, 34, 331–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smock, P. J., Manning, W. D., & Porter, M. (2005). “Everything’s there except money”: How money shapes decisions to marry among cohabitors. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 680–696.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spitze, G., & Logan, J. (1990). Sons, daughters, and intergenerational support. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 420–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, N. (2002). Re-engaging: New partnerships in late-life widowhood. Ageing International, 27(4), 27–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strohm, C. Q., Seltzer, J. A., Cochran, S. D., & Mays, V. M. (2009). “Living apart together” relationships in the United States. Demographic Research, 21, article 7, 177–214. doi:10.4054/DemRes.2009.21.7

  • Talbott, M. M. (1998). Older widows’ attitudes towards men and remarriage. Journal of Aging Studies, 12, 429–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornton, A., & Young-DeMarco, L. (2001). Four decades of trends in attitudes toward family issues in the United States: The 1960s through the 1990s. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 1009–1037.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Census Bureau. (2001). Profiles of general demographic characteristics. In Census of Population and Housing, United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.

  • U.S. Census Bureau. (2007). Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.

    Google Scholar 

  • van den Hoonaard, D. K. (2002). Attitudes of older widows and widowers in New Brunswick, Canada towards new partnerships. Ageing International, 27(4), 79–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waite, L., & Spitze, G. D. (1981). Young women’s transition to marriage. Demography, 18, 681–694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilmoth, J., & Koso, G. (2002). Does marital history matter? Marital status and wealth outcomes among preretirement adults. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 254–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, Z. (1995). The stability of cohabitation relationships: The role of children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 231–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, Z., & Balakrishnan, T. R. (1994). Dissolution of premarital cohabitation in Canada. Demography, 32, 521–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, Y., Raymo, J. M., Goyette, K., & Thornton, A. (2003). Economic potential and entry into marriage and cohabitation. Demography, 40, 351–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamaguchi, K. (1991). Event history analysis. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zick, C. D., & Smith, K. R. (1988). Recent widowhood, remarriage, and changes in economic well-being. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 233–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

For their advice and time spent reviewing this article, I thank the former and current editors of Demography, Kenneth Land and Stewart Tolnay, the anonymous reviewers, Elizabeth Cooksey, Adrianne Frech, Jamie Lynch, Elizabeth Menaghan, Kimberley Murphy, Matthew Painter, and Zhenchao Qian. Earlier versions of this study were presented at the annual meetings of the Population Association of America in Dallas, TX, April 15–17, 2010.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Ohio State University, 238 Townshend Hall, 1885 Neil Avenue Mall, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Jonathan Vespa

Authors
  1. Jonathan Vespa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan Vespa.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Vespa, J. Union Formation in Later Life: Economic Determinants of Cohabitation and Remarriage Among Older Adults. Demography 49, 1103–1125 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-012-0102-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-012-0102-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation