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Family Change and Marital Status in Later Life
Author(s) -
Rowland D.T.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
australian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 0726-4240
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-6612.1994.tb00664.x
Subject(s) - marital status , context (archaeology) , demography , gerontology , population , psychology , medicine , geography , sociology , archaeology
This paper discusses the marital status of the aged in the context of changes in the family, especially trends in marriage and divorce. Marital status is an indicator of family resources for care and support; decreases in the proportions married particularly denote diminished access to such resources. Although the decline in the prevalence of marriage has been most marked among younger generations, the composition of the older population is changing as birth cohorts with disrupted marital histories advance into later life. The paper discusses the past and future marital status of cohorts of the aged using observed data and information from a new method of projecting marital status. The analysis shows that although past changes have mainly indicated an improvement in family resources, Australia is on the threshold of a decline in such resources as higher proportions experience family breakdown and live their later years without spouses, the main carers and supporters of the aged.