What doesn’t break you makes you stronger?: the survivor’s mortality during conjugal bereavement

Absztrakt (kivonat)

This paper investigates the bereavement effect on the mortality hazard of the widowed by comparing it to those who are still married. A difference is made between the shortand the long-term consequences of losing a spouse: after an initial shock that results in an elevated mortality the survival chances are returning to a certain level that does not depend on income or gender. In the meantime, these predictors seem to make a distinction between the mortality rates of those who are still married and who are just recently widowed. We show that the absolute age difference between partners is a significant predictor of one’s mortality risk during the married years, but it becomes insignificant once someone loses their partner.