Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Mortality Differences by Partnership Status in England and Wales: The Effect of Living Arrangements or Health Selection?

  • Published:
European Journal of Population Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between partnership status and mortality in England and Wales. Using data from the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study for the period between 2001 and 2011, we examine whether married people have lower mortality levels than unmarried individuals; whether individuals who cohabit have mortality levels similar to those of married or single persons; and how much the fact that married couples live with someone rather than alone explains their low mortality. Our analysis shows first that married individuals have lower mortality than unmarried persons. Second, men and women in premarital unions exhibit mortality levels similar to those of married men and women, whereas mortality levels are elevated for post-marital cohabitants. Third, controlling for household size and the presence of children reduces mortality differences between married and unmarried non-partnered individuals, but significant differences persist. The study supports both protection and selection theory. The increase in mortality differences by age between never-married cohabitants and married couples is likely a sign of the long-term accumulation of health and wealth benefits of marriage. Similar mortality levels of cohabiting and married couples at younger ages suggest that healthier individuals are more likely to find a partner.

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

Source: Authors’ calculations based on the ONS LS

Fig. 3

Source: Authors’ calculations based on the ONS LS

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allan, G., & Crow, G. (2001). Families, households and society. Palgrave: Basingstoke and New York.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Allison, P. D. (2010). Survival analysis. In G. R. Hancock & R. O. Mueller (Eds.), The reviewer’s guide to quantitative methods in the social sciences (pp. 413–425). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arber, S. (2004). Gender, marital status, and ageing: Linking material, health, and social resources. Journal of Aging Studies, 18, 91–108. doi:10.1016/j.jaging.2003.09.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Band, E. B., & Weisz, J. R. (1988). How to feel better when it feels bad: Children’s perspectives on coping with everyday stress. Developmental Psychology, 24, 247–253. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.24.2.247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ben-Shlomo, Y., Smith, G. D., Shipley, M., & Marmot, M. G. (1993). Magnitude and causes of mortality differences between married and unmarried men. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 47, 200–205. doi:10.1136/jech.47.3.200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blomgren, J., Martikainen, P., Grundy, E., & Koskinen, S. (2012). Marital history 1971–91 and mortality 1991–2004 in England and Wales and Finland. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 66, 30–36. doi:10.1136/jech.2010.110635.

    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 Family, 66, 567–581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, Y. (1998). Can marital selection explain the differences in health between married and divorced people? From a longitudinal study of a British birth cohort. Public Health, 112, 113–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, Y., & Sloggett, A. (1998). Health and adverse selection into marriage: Evidence from a study of the 1958 British birth cohort. Public Health, 112, 309–311.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, P., & Ford, J. (1964). The mortality of widows shortly after widowhood. Lancet.

  • Drefahl, S. (2012). Do the married really live longer? The role of cohabitation and socioeconomic status. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74(3), 462–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, S., & Phillips, M. (2010). People who live apart together (LATs)—How different are they? The Sociological Review.

  • Dupre, M. E., Beck, A. N., & Meadows, S. O. (2009). Marital trajectories and mortality among US adults. American Journal of Epidemiology, 170, 546–555. doi:10.1093/aje/kwp194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dupre, M. E., & Meadows, S. O. (2007). Disaggregating the effects of marital trajectories on health. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 623–652. doi:10.1177/0192513X06296296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ermisch, J., & Francesconi, M. (2000). Cohabitation in Great Britain: Not for long, but here to stay. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), 163, 153–171. doi:10.1111/1467-985X.00163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Espinosa, J., & Evans, W. N. (2008). Heightened mortality after the death of a spouse: Marriage protection or marriage selection? Journal of Health Economics, 27, 1326–1342. doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2008.04.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, J. (2002). Cox proportional-hazards regression for survival data. An R and S-PLUS Companion to Applied Regression. http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/jfox/books/companion/appendix/Appendix-Cox-Regression.pdf.

  • Fu, H., & Goldman, N. (1994). Are healthier people more likely to marry? An event history analysis based on the NLSY.

  • Fu, H., & Goldman, N. (1996). Incorporating health into models of marriage choice: Demographic and sociological perspectives. Journal of Marriage and the Family.

  • Gardner, J., & Oswald, A. (2004). How is mortality affected by money, marriage, and stress? Journal of Health Economics, 23, 1181–1207. doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2004.03.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, N. (2001). Mortality differentials: Selection and causation. In N. J. Smelser & P. B. Baltes (Eds.), International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (pp. 10068–10070) Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, N., & Hu, Y. (1993). Excess mortality among the unmarried: A case study of Japan. Social Science and Medicine, 36, 533–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gove, W. R. (1973). Sex, marital status, and mortality. American Journal of Sociology, 79, 45–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grundy, E. (2000). Living arrangements and the health of older persons in developed countries. Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grundy, E. M. D., & Tomassini, C. (2010). Marital history, health and mortality among older men and women in England and Wales. BMC Public Health, 10, 554. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guner, N., Kulikova, Y., & Llull, J. (2014). Does marriage make you healthier? 1–37.

  • Hannemann, T., & Kulu, H. (2015). Union formation and dissolution among immigrants and their descendants in the United Kingdom. Demographic Research, 33(August), 273–312. doi:10.4054/DemRes.2015.33.10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayward, J., & Brandon, G. (2010). Cohabitation in the 21st Century. Cambridge.

  • Horwitz, A. V., White, H. R., & Howell-white, S. (1996). Becoming married and mental health: A longitudinal study of a cohort of young adults. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 895–907.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, Y. R., & Goldman, N. (1990). Mortality differentials by marital status: An international comparison. Demography, 27, 233–250. doi:10.2307/2061451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, N. J., Backlund, E., Sorlie, P. D., & Loveless, C. A. (2000). Marital status and mortality: The National Longitudinal Mortality Study. Annals of Epidemiology, 10, 224–238. doi:10.1016/S1047-2797(99)00052-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joung, I. M., van de Mheen, H. D., 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, 425–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, S., & Bumpass, L. (2008). Cohabitation and children’s living arrangements. Demographic Research, 19, 1663–1692. doi:10.4054/DemRes.2008.19.47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kilpi, F., Konttinen, H., Silventoinen, K., & Martikainen, P. (2015). Living arrangements as determinants of myocardial infarction incidence and survival: A prospective register study of over 300,000 Finnish men and women. Social Science and Medicine, 133, 93–100. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.03.054.

    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. doi:10.1093/ije/dym212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulu, H., & Boyle, P. J. (2010). Premarital cohabitation and divorce: Support for the “Trial Marriage” Theory? Demographic Research, 23, 879–904. doi:10.4054/DemRes.2010.23.31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lesthaeghe, R., & Van de Kaa, D. (1986). Twee demografische transities. … groei en krimp.

  • Lillard, L. A., & Panis, C. W. A. (1996). Marital status and mortality: The role of health. Demography, 33, 313–327.

    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 

  • Lund, R., Due, P., Modvig, J., Holstein, B. E., Damsgaard, M. T., & Andersen, P. K. (2002). Cohabitation and marital status as predictors of mortality—an eight year follow-up study. Social Science and Medicine, 55, 673–679. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00219-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, K., Leib, S., Warren, J., Rogers, N., & Buxton, J. (2011). Longitudinal Study 2001–2011 Completeness of census linkage Series LS No. 11.

  • Manor, O., & Eisenbach, Z. (2003). Mortality after spousal loss: Are there socio-demographic differences? Social Science & Medicine.

  • Mastekaasa, A. (2006). Is marriage/cohabitation beneficial for young people? Some evidence on psychological distress among Norwegian college students. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 165, 149–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McRae, S. (1999). Changing Britain: Changing families and households in the 1990s. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, M., Grundy, E., & Kalogirou, S. (2007). The increase in marital status differences in mortality up to the oldest age in seven European countries, 1990–99. Population Studies (New York), 61, 287–298. doi:10.1080/00324720701524466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, J. E. (2000). Marital protection and marital selection: Evidence from a historical-prospective sample of American men. Demography, 37, 511–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Popham, F., & Boyle, P. J. (2011). Is there a “Scottish effect” for mortality? Prospective observational study of census linkage studies. Journal of Public Health (Oxford), 33, 453–458. doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdr023.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rendall, M. S., Weden, M. M., Favreault, M. M., & Waldron, H. (2011). The protective effect of marriage for survival: A review and update. Demography, 48, 481–506. doi:10.1007/s13524-011-0032-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scafato, E., Galluzzo, L., Gandin, C., Ghirini, S., Baldereschi, M., Capurso, A., et al. (2008). Marital and cohabitation status as predictors of mortality: A 10-year follow-up of an Italian elderly cohort. Social Science and Medicine, 67(9), 1456–1464. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.06.026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shumaker, S. A., & Hill, D. R. (1991). Gender differences in social support and physical health. Health Psychology, 10, 102–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soons, J. P. M., & Kalmijn, M. (2009). Is marriage more than cohabitation? Well-being differences in 30 European countries. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 1141–1157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Staehelin, K., Schindler, C., Spoerri, A., & Zemp Stutz, E. (2012). Marital status, living arrangement and mortality: Does the association vary by gender? Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 66, e22. doi:10.1136/jech.2010.128397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, E. (2014). Family complexity in Europe. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 654, 245–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, M., & Weiß, B. (2006). On the variation of divorce risks in Europe: Findings from a meta-analysis of European longitudinal studies. European Sociological Review, 22, 483–500. doi:10.1093/esr/jcl014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waite, L. J. (1995). Does marriage matter? Demography.

  • 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, 113–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, M., & Kulu, H. (2014a). Migration and health in England and Scotland: A study of migrant selectivity and Salmon bias. Population, Space and Place, 20, 694–708. doi:10.1002/psp.1804.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, M., & Kulu, H. (2014b). Low immigrant mortality in England and Wales: A data artefact? Social Science and Medicine, 120, 100–109. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.08.032.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox, W. B., Doherty, W. J., & Al, E. (2005). Why marriage matters (2nd edn, pp. 1–44).

  • Wilson, B., & Stuchbury, R. (2010). Do partnerships last? Comparing marriage and cohabitation using longitudinal census data. List of figures, 37–63.

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Phil Sapiro and two anonymous referees for valuable comments and suggestions on a previous version of this article. Sebastian Franke’s research was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [ES/J500094/1] through the North West Doctoral Training Centre Social Statistics pathway (Ph.D. project: “Health, Mortality and Partnership Status: Protection or Selection”). The permission of the Office for National Statistics to use the Longitudinal Study is gratefully acknowledged, as is the help provided by staff of the Centre for Longitudinal Study Information and User Support (CeLSIUS). CeLSIUS is supported by the ESRC Census of Population Programme (Award Ref: ES/K000365/1). The authors alone are responsible for the interpretation of the data. This work contains statistical data from ONS which is Crown Copyright. The use of the ONS statistical data in this work does not imply the endorsement of the ONS in relation to the interpretation or analysis of the statistical data. This work uses research datasets which may not exactly reproduce National Statistics aggregates.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Planning, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Roxby Building, Liverpool, L69 7ZT, UK

    Sebastian Franke

  2. School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, Irvine Building, North Street, St Andrews, KY16 9AL, UK

    Hill Kulu

Authors
  1. Sebastian Franke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hill Kulu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sebastian Franke.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Franke, S., Kulu, H. Mortality Differences by Partnership Status in England and Wales: The Effect of Living Arrangements or Health Selection?. Eur J Population 34, 87–118 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-017-9423-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-017-9423-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation