Loneliness and depression in middle and old age: are the childless more vulnerable?

OBJECTIVES This study tests whether childlessness is significantly related to greater loneliness or depression among older adults, both alone and in conjunction with marital status. METHODS Using data from the 1988 National Survey of Families and Households, the relative circumstances of community-dwelling, permanently childless adults and biological parents (with at least one surviving child), 50-84 years old, are compared. Multivariate models are used to test the effects of parental status and combined marital-parental statuses on loneliness and depression, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS Results of multivariate analyses show no significant, direct effect of childlessness, though a marginally significant effect appears for women. However, small but significant differences are observed within a typology combining marital and parental statuses. Widowed men and women report higher levels of loneliness and depression than married parents regardless of parental status. Divorced parents are also significantly more vulnerable. The subjective well-being of never married, childless men and women is indistinguishable from that of their married peers. DISCUSSION The results confirm earlier studies, indicating that childlessness is not necessarily linked with diminished subjective well-being among older adults. However, marital status represents an important context within which to understand and evaluate the experience of parental status.