Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Demography of Unions Among Older Americans, 1980–Present: A Family Change Approach

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook of Sociology of Aging

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

The current generation of older Americans faces more complex family and marital histories than any prior generation. Moreover, baby boomers, the first cohort to experience high levels of divorce, single parenthood, and remarriage, are now moving into older adulthood. This movement will likely exacerbate the trend away from marriage among older adults. Researchers are uncovering greater heterogeneity and complexity in the family life of older Americans, which in turn portends a shift in the benefits and rewards offered by certain family circumstances (Allen et al. 2000; Cooney and Dunne 2001). The growing diversity of living arrangements characterizing older adulthood is likely to have important consequences for individual health and well-being as well as policy ramifications for the changing types of institutional support older adults require (Wilmoth and Longino 2006).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Administration on Aging 2009. Aging Statistics. Retrieved July 30, 2010 (http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Aging_Statistics/index.aspx).

  • Allen, Katherine R., Rosemary Blieszner, and Karen A. Roberto. 2000. “Families in the Middle and Later Years: A Review and Critique of Research in the 1990s.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 62:911–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Axinn, William and Arland Thornton. 2000. “The Transformation in the Meaning of Marriage.” Pp. 147–65 in The Ties that Bind: Perspectives on Marriage and Cohabitation, edited by L. Waite, C. Bachrach, M. Hindin, E. Thomson and A. Thornton. New York: Walter de Gruyter, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, Gary S. 1974. Marriage, Family Human Capital and Fertility. The Journal of Political Economy 82:S11–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, Lisa and Gary J. Gates 2004. “The Cost of Marriage Inequality to Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Seniors.” Washington, D.C.: Human Rights Campaign.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi, Suzanne M., V. Joseph Hotz, Kathleen McGarry, and Judith A. Seltzer 2008. Intergenerational Ties: Alternative Theories, Empirical Findings and Trends, and Remaining Challenges. Pp. xx–xx in Intergenerational Caregiving, edited by A. Booth, N. Crouter, S. Bianchi, and J. Seltzer. Washington DC: Urban Institute Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, Susan L. and Sayaka Kawamura. Forthcoming. “Relationship Quality among Cohabitors and Marrieds in Older Adulthood.” Social Science Research 39:777–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, Susan L., Jennifer Roebuck Bulanda, and Gary Lee 2005. “The Significance of Nonmarital Cohabitation: Marital Status and Mental Health Benefits among Middle-Aged and Older Adults.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 60B:S21–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, Susan L., Gary R. Lee, and Jennifer Roebuck Bulanda. 2006. “Cohabitation among Older Adults: A National Portrait.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 61B:S71–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bulcroft, Richard A. and Kris A. Bulcroft. 1991. “The Nature and Functions of Dating in Later Life.” Research on Aging 13:244–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carr, Deborah 2004. “The Desire to Date and Remarry among Older Widows and Widowers.” Journal of Marriage and Family 66:1051–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calasanti, Toni and K. Jill Kiecolt. 2007. “Diversity among Late-Life Couples.” Generations, 31, 10–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, Avshalom, Daryl J. Bem, and Glen H. Elder. 1989. “Continuities and Consequences of Interactional Styles across the Life Course.” Journal of Personality 57:375–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cherlin, Andrew. 2004. “The Deinstitutionalization of American Marriage” Journal of Marriage and Family 66:848–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chevan, Albert. 1996. “As Cheaply as One: Cohabitation in the Older Population.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 58:656–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooney, Teresa M. and Kathleen Dunne. 2001. “Intimate Relationships in Later Life: Current Realities, Future Prospects.” Journal of Family Issues 22:838–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coward, Raymond T., Gary R. Lee, Julie K. Netzer, Stephen J. Cutler, and Nicholas L. Danigelis 1996. “Racial Differences in the Household Composition of Elders by Age, Gender, and Area of Residence.” International Journal of Aging and Human Development 42:205–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curran, Sara R., Sara McLanahan, and Jean Knab. 2003. “Does Remarriage Expand Perceptions of Kinship Support Among the Elderly?” Social Science Research 32:171–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Jong Gierveld, Jenny. 2004. “Remarriage, Unmarried Cohabitation, Living Apart Together: Partner Relationships Following Bereavement or Divorce.” Journal of Marriage and Family 66:236–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elder, Glen H., Jr. 1985. “Perspectives on the Life Course.” Pp. 23–49 in Life Course Dynamics: Trajectories and Transitions, 1968–1980, edited by G. H. Elder, Jr. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eggebeen, David J. 2005. “Cohabitation and Exchanges of Support.” Social Forces 83:3:1097–1110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gates, Gary. 2003. “Gay and Lesbian Families in the Census: Gay and Lesbian Seniors.” Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haskey, John and Jane Lewis. 2006. “Living-Apart-Together in Britain: Context and Meaning.” International Journal of Law in Context 2(1):37–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heron, Melanie P., Donna Hoyert, Sherry Murphy, Jiaquan Xu, Kenneth Kochanek, and Betzaida Tejada-Vera. 2009. Deaths: Final Data for 2006. National Vital Statistics Reports, 57(14). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Himes, Christine L., Dennis P. Hogan, and David J. Eggebeen. 1996. “Living Arrangements of Minority Elders.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 51B(1):S42–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huyck, Margaret Hellie. 1995. “Marriage and Close Relationships of the Marital Kind.” Pp. 181–200 in Handbook of Aging and the Family, edited by R. Blieszner and V. H. Bedford. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karlsson, Sofie Ghazanfareeon and Klas Borell. 2002. “Intimacy and Autonomy, Gender and Ageing: Living Apart Together.” Ageing International 27:11–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, V., & Scott, M.E. 2005. A Comparison of Cohabiting Relationships Among Older and Younger Adults. Journal of Marriage and Family 67:271–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurdek, Lawrence A. 2004. “Are Gay and Lesbian Cohabiting Couples Really Different from Heterosexual Married Couples?” Journal of Marriage and Family 66:4:880–900.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lesthaeghe, Ron and Lisa Neidert 2006. “The Second Demographic Transition in the United States: Exception or Textbook Example?” Population and Development Review 32:4:669–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, Irene. 2004. “Living Apart Together: A New Family Form.” Current Sociology 52:223–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, I-Fen. 2010. “Gender, Divorce, and Expectations of Support from Adult Children.” Center for Family and Demographic Research Working Paper 2010–04. Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindau, Stacy Tessler, L. Philip Schumm, Edward O. Laumann, Wendy Levinson, Colm A. O’Muircheartaigh, and Linda J. Waite. 2007. “A Study of Sexuality and Health among Older Adults in the United States.” The New England Journal of Medicine 357:762–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyers, George C. and Barbara Foley Wilson. 1988. “Marriage and Divorce Trends and Patterns among Older Americans.” Presented at the annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, New Orleans, LA, April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moss, Miriam S., and Sidney Z. Moss. 1981. “The Image of the Deceased Spouse in Remarriage of Elderly Widow(ers).” Journal of Gerontological Social Work 3:59–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mutchler, Jan E. 1992. “Living Arrangements and Household Transitions among the Unmarried in Later Life.” Social Science Quarterly 73:565–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Center for Family and Marriage Research. 2009. “Marital Status in the U.S., 2008.” Family Profile 09-04.v. Retrieved (http://ncfmr.bgsu.edu/family_percent20marriage_lit/Familypercent20Profiles/family_profiles.html).

  • National Center for Health Statistics. 2009. Health, United States, 2008 with Chartbook Hyattsville, MD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raley, R. Kelly and Larry Bumpass. 2003. “The Topography of the Divorce Plateau: Levels and Trends in Union Stability in the United States after 1980.” Demographic Research 8:245–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi, Alice S. and Peter H. Rossi. 1990. Of Human Bonding: Parent-Child Relations across the Life Course. New York: Walter de Gruyter, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seltzer, Judith, Christine Bachrach, Suzanne M. Bianchi, Caroline H. Bledsoe, Lynne M. Casper, P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Thomas A. DiPrete, V. Joseph Hotz, S. Philip Morgan, Seth G. Sanders and Duncan Thomas. 2005. “Explaining Family Change and Variation: Challenges for Family Demographers.” Journal of Marriage and Family 67:4:908–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Settersten, Richard 2007. “Social Relationships in the New Demographic Regime: Potentials and Risks, Reconsidered.” Advances in Life Course Research 12:3–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Settersten, Richard A., Jr. 2009. “It Takes Two to Tango: The (Un)Easy Dance between Life-Course Sociology and Life-Span Psychology.” Advances in Life Course Research 14(1–2):74–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, Adam and Teresa M. Cooney. 2007. “Divorce and Intergenerational Relations across the Life Course.” Advances in Life Course Research 12:191–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smock, Pamela. 2004. “The Wax and Wane of Marriage: Prospects for Marriage in the 21st Century.” Journal of Marriage and Family 66(4):966–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strohm, Charles Q., Judith A. Seltzer, Susan D. Cochran, and Vickie M. Mays. 2009. “Living Apart Together: Relationships in the United States.” Demographic Research 21:177–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweeney, Megan M. 2002. “Two Decades of Family Change: The Shifting Economic Foundations of Marriage.” American Sociological Review 67:132–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talbott, M.M. 1998. Older Widows’ Attitudes Towards Men and Remarriage. Journal of Aging Studies 12:429–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamborini, Christopher R. 2007. “The Never-Married in Old Age: Projections and Concerns for the Near Future.” Social Security Bulletin 67(2):25–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2009. “Same-Sex Couples, Data from the American Community Survey: 2008.” Retrieved July 30, 2010 (http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html).

  • Wade, A. 1989. Social Security Area Population Projections. Actuarial Study No. 105, Washington, D.C.: Office of the Actuary, Social Security Administration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waite, Linda. 2009. Marriage & Health, Especially at Older Ages. Families and Health Conference. Washington, D.C., June. Retrieved July 30, 2010 (http://ncfmr.bgsu.edu/pdf/families_health/file78452.pdf).

  • Waite, Linda J., Christine Bachrach, Michelle Hindin, Elizabeth Thomson, and Arland Thornton. 2000. The Ties that Bind: Perspectives on Marriage and Cohabitation. New York: Walter de Gruyter, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilmoth, Janet M. 1998. “Living Arrangement Transitions among America’s Older Adults.” The Gerontologist 38:434–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilmoth, Janet M. and Charles F. Longino, Jr. 2006. “Demographic Trends That Will Shape U.S. Policy in the Twenty-First Century.” Research on Aging 28:269–88.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology & National Center for Family and Marriage Research, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA

    Wendy D. Manning

Authors
  1. Wendy D. Manning
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Susan L. Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wendy D. Manning .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Human Development and Family Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, 97331-2302, Oregon, USA

    Richard A. Settersten

  2. Dept. Sociology, University of Texas, Austin, University Station 1, Austin, 78712, Texas, USA

    Jacqueline L. Angel

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Manning, W.D., Brown, S.L. (2011). The Demography of Unions Among Older Americans, 1980–Present: A Family Change Approach. In: Settersten, R., Angel, J. (eds) Handbook of Sociology of Aging. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7374-0_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation