We define and estimate measures of economic preparation for retirement based on a complete inventory of economic resources while taking into account the risk of living to advanced old age and the risk of high out-of-pocket spending for health care services. We ask whether, in a sample of 66–69 year-olds, observed economic resources could support with high probability a life-cycle consumption pa...

This study examines sexual activity among the population aged 50 and over in Thailand in relation to age, gender and health status. It is the first study of older persons based on a large nationally representative survey in any non-Western or developing country. The results indicate substantial proportions of older married Thais remain sexually active, but at lower levels than found in Western ...

The article presents the data of an empirical study aimed at identifying differences and features psychological health in people who are married unmarried. authors explain as a necessary state that affects quality human life. results can serve theoretical basis family psychology. proposed recommendations be used by practical psychologists working with different marital status. main methodology ...

Since the inception of the economic reform, marital relationship in urban China has undergone dramatic transformations. Though the burgeoning body of scholarly research has demonstrated that marital quality has increasingly become an important aspect of family life among married persons in urban China, both the conceptualization and measurement of marital quality remain underdeveloped. The purp...

Examining the social context of disablement, we investigated how changes in social relations affect loneliness among married older men and women. With longitudinal data on 914 married persons from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), we found that changes in the quality of marital and nonmarital relations moderate the effect of disability on loneliness in unexpected ways...

Previous research has shown marital status and marital quality are consistent predictors of health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease and mortality. To better understand the relationship among marital status, marital quality, and cardiovascular health, we examined how marital status and marital quality were associated with an early indicator of deteriorating cardiovascular health, high-...

Assortative mating--marriage of a man and a woman with similar social characteristics--is a commonly observed phenomenon. In the existing literature in both sociology and economics, this phenomenon has mainly been attributed to individuals' conscious preferences for assortative mating. In this paper, we show that patterns of assortative mating may arise from another structural source even if in...

Never-married persons (singles) constitute a growing demographic group; yet, the magnitude of the all-cause relative mortality risk for nonelderly singles is not known and important moderating factors have not been explored. The authors used meta-analysis to examine 641 risk estimates from 95 publications that provided data on more than 500 million persons. The comparison group consisted of cur...

The impact of widowhood on suicide and accident mortality in Ireland was investigated using Poisson regression analysis applied to routine data relating to all 10 561 suicidal and accidental deaths of married or widowed persons aged at least 35 years in Ireland during 1986-2005. Mortality rates were almost always higher among the widowed and often by a 2-fold, statistically significant differen...