OBJECTIVES Few studies have identified the distinctive aspects of singlehood that are distressing to older adults. The objectives of our study were: (a) to examine whether divorced, widowed, and never-married older adults differed in their experiences of single strain, an indicator of chronic stressors associated with being unmarried; and (b) to assess whether the marital status differences we ...

The annual prevalence of psychotropic medication use exceeds 10 percent in Europe and the United States, the prevalence being higher among the divorced than the married. We analysed changes in the three-month prevalence of psychotropic medication use (psycholeptics and psychoanaleptics excluding medication for dementia) by proximity to divorce, sex, medication type and socio-demographic charact...

This paper examines the contributing factors to the increase in the numbers of divorced and separated mothers in Taiwan since the end of 1980s. In particular, it tests the hypothesis of women’s economic independence. Data from the Survey of Family Income and Expenditures is used; women’s potential earnings are used as the measure of their economic independence. A probit model is employed to exa...

This study, carried out during the second half of 1995, investigated the predisposing factors leading to marital disruption and its consequences on the lives of women in Matlab, a rural area of Bangladesh. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Data were generated from detailed case studies and quantitative surveys of a small number of maritally-disrupted women. Additional data we...

Limited data are available on the possible changes in cancer risk brought about by widowhood and divorce, an increasing segment of the population. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for cancer among 47,000 widows/widowers and 60,000 divorced people, based on the Swedish Family-Cancer Database. Persons had to be identified with the same civil status in the census of years 1960 an...

Kenya still faces major challenges due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This study examined the association between marital status and risk of HIV infection in urban slums of Nairobi. Data were derived from a cross-sectional population-based survey nested in an ongoing Demographic Surveillance System in two urban slums in Nairobi. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression analysis we...