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Wives' Poor Health Conditions Lead To Divorce Among Older Couples, Study

Wives’ Poor Health Conditions is the main Reason for couples to Split
(Photo : Flickr) Wives’ Poor Health Conditions is the main Reason for couples to Split

Older couples are more likely to get a divorce when the wives suffer from health problems, according to a study.

A past research suggests martial conflicts occur mainly because of a husband's poor physical and mental health. Experts from the University of Michigan for Social Research and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis discovered a surging rise in the number of divorce rates in older couples when the wives are affected with serious illnesses.

For the study, researchers used data from the Health and Retirement Study conducted in 1992 on 2717 married couples. All participants were aged above 50 years when they interviewed and the researchers kept a track on their illnesses including heart conditions, stroke, lung diseases and cancer to note its impact on their marriage. Throughout the study a large number of people especially men developed these conditions.

At the end of the analysis, it was observed that more than 30 percent of the marriages ended in divorce. About 15 percent of these couples separated when the wife became sick. However, the study did not help determine why couples were more likely to get divorced when the wife fell sick compared to when husbands fell ill.

" Married women diagnosed with a serious health condition may find themselves struggling with the impact of their disease while also experiencing the stress of divorce," Amelia Karraker, study author and  researcher at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research said in a news release. "We found that women are doubly vulnerable to marital dissolution in the face of illness. They are more likely to be widowed, and if they are the ones who become ill, they are more likely to get divorced."

The authors believe that owing to societal pressures and gender restrictions, men find it difficult to fit into the role of care givers and nurse their partners back to health. The lack of moral and emotional support can disappoint and stir indifferences in couple who mostly end-up dissolving their long-standing courtship. The convenience of having enough options and demands in the marriage market for older men who are divorced or single also influences their decision to end their marriages.

"We did not have information on who initiated divorce in this study. But it's important to keep in mind that in most cases, its women who do so. So it could be that when women become ill and their husbands are not doing a very good job caring for them, they would rather that he just go and they rely on friends and family who will take care of them," said Karraker.

The study warns policy makers and health officials of the rising burden on health care and treatment costs in the older population who are single or separated. The authors encourage development of new strategies to financially support spouses of sick patients to curb divorce rates.

Karraker adds, "But it's also important to recognize that the impetus for divorce may be health-related and that sick ex-wives may need additional care and services to prevent worsening health and increased health expenditures."

The research findings were presented at the annual meet of the Population Association of America.

May 02, 2014 06:35 AM EDT

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