Unmarried Boomers Confront Old Age: A National Portrait
Unmarried Boomers Confront Old Age: A National Portrait
Purpose of the Study: Our study provides a national portrait of the Baby Boom generation, paying particular attention to the heterogeneity among unmarried Boomers and whether it operates similarly among women versus men.
Design and Methods: We used the 1980, 1990, and 2000 Census 5% samples and the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS) to document the trends in the share and marital status composition of the unmarried population during midlife. Using the 2009 ACS, we developed a sociodemographic portrait of Baby Boomers according to marital status.
Results: One in three Baby Boomers was unmarried. The vast majority of these unmarried Boomers were either divorced or never-married; just 10% were widowed. Unmarried Boomers faced greater economic, health, and social vulnerabilities compared to married Boomers. Divorced Boomers had more economic resources and better health than widowed and never-married Boomers. Widows appeared to be the most disadvantaged among Boomer women, whereas never-marrieds were the least advantaged among Boomer men.
Implications: The rise in unmarrieds at midlife leaves Baby Boomers vulnerable to the vagaries of aging. Health care and social service providers as well as policy makers must recognize the various risk profiles of different unmarried Boomers to ensure that all Boomers age well and that society is able to provide adequate services to all Boomers, regardless of marital status.
Baby Boomers (born between 1946–1964) came of age during the dramatic upheaval of U.S. family life in the 1970s, a period characterized by delayed and forgone marriage, divorce rates that climbed to an all-time high, and the widespread emergence of unmarried family behaviors, including cohabitation and nonmarital childbearing (Cherlin, 2010). These diverse family life experiences earlier in the life course shape the current family circumstances of Boomers (Ferraro & Shippee, 2009), who are more likely than their parents' generation to be unmarried during midlife (Frey, 2010).
Unmarrieds are a vulnerable population who face considerable social disadvantages compared to marrieds. A key indicator of adult well-being, marital status has long been linked to economic resources, social integration, and health and mortality (Durkheim, 2006; Waite & Gallagher, 2000). The inequalities associated with marital status can accumulate over the life course (Dannefer, 2003; Ferraro & Shippee, 2009), and thus, unmarrieds could experience greater disadvantage with age. Indeed, marital status is one of the components of successful aging (Pruchno, Wilson-Genderson, Rose, & Cartwright, 2010). At the same time, unmarrieds have fewer resources to draw on than do marrieds (Roth, Haley, Wadley, Clay, & Howard, 2007), putting them at risk of lower health and well-being (Hughes & Waite, 2009; Johnson & Favreault, 2004) and potentially straining existing institutional mechanisms that support the aged (Martikainen et al., 2009).
Moreover, the composition of midlife unmarrieds has changed over the past few decades. The proportion of widowed middle-aged adults has decreased dramatically as life expectancy has increased (Kreider & Ellis, 2011). The shares of the population that are divorced have remained high over the past few decades because the divorce rate reached its peak in the early 1980s. Baby Boomers are the cohort most likely to have ever experienced divorce, and they also are the generation most likely to be currently divorced (Hughes & O'Rand, 2004). And, a growing share of unmarried middle-aged adults has never married. The proportion of adults aged 45–54 who are never-married increased 300% between 1986 and 2009 (Kreider & Ellis, 2011).
The wide-ranging vulnerabilities characterizing unmarrieds coupled with their changing marital status composition at midlife underscore the need for greater attention to variation in life circumstances, health, and well-being of unmarried Boomers. Studies of intimate relationships in later life often have ignored the heterogeneity among unmarrieds because the shares of divorced and never-married adults have been relatively small in prior cohorts (Choi, 1996). But, as the marital status composition of the midlife population shifts, it is important to decipher the heterogeneity among unmarrieds by comparing widowed, divorced, and never-married adults.
Thus, we provide a descriptive national portrait of the Baby Boom generation—married and unmarried—paying particular attention to the heterogeneity among unmarried Boomers. Specifically, we examine variation among widowed, divorced, and never-married Boomers. We also address whether this heterogeneity operates similarly for women versus men by comparing the three unmarried groups (i.e., widowed, divorced, and never-married) separately by gender. The marital status composition of unmarrieds varies by gender such that unmarried women are more likely to be widowed, whereas unmarried men are disproportionately never-married (Kreider & Ellis, 2011).
This study expands prior literature on Baby Boomers, which primarily has focused on either economic well-being or health (Madrian, Mitchell, & Soldo, 2007; Martin, Freedman, Schoeni, & Andreski, 2009; Mermim, Johnson, & Murphy, 2007), by addressing the role of marital status in the life circumstances of Boomers. We not only document the rise in unmarrieds among the middle-aged but also uncover the economic, health, and social vulnerabilities characterizing today's unmarried Boomers. With one in three Boomers currently unmarried, these vulnerabilities are likely to strain existing policies and programs, posing significant new challenges to institutional supports (Martikainen et al., 2009). As Boomers confront old age, society must be ready to respond to the unique challenges and needs of the growing population of unmarrieds.
Research has consistently shown that unmarried individuals report worse physical and psychological well-being, on average, than married individuals (Dupre, Beck, & Meadows, 2009; Waite, 1995). Whether this association is actually causal or primarily due to selection is the subject of considerable debate (Nock, 2005) but beyond the scope of the current study, which is descriptive. Nonetheless, unmarrieds are disadvantaged relative to marrieds. Unmarrieds tend to have fewer economic resources, poorer health, and are less socially integrated than their married counterparts. What remains unclear is whether all unmarried adults are equally vulnerable regardless of marital status (i.e., widowed, divorced, or never-married) and whether these vulnerabilities are similar for women versus men. Subsequently we summarize the existing literature on how various types of middle-aged unmarrieds fare across four key domains: demographic characteristics, economic resources, health, and household composition and living arrangements. Then, we formulate expectations for how married and unmarried (including the widowed, divorced, and never-married) Baby Boomers will compare across these dimensions.
Demographic Characteristics Widoweds are disproportionately women, whereas never-marrieds are more likely to be men (Kreider & Ellis, 2011). Most widoweds are older and never-marrieds are younger because widowhood often occurs at a later stage of the life course and younger people are likely to stay single. Marriage is a luxury good which disadvantaged members of society are often unable to attain (Cherlin, 2009; Gibson-Davis, 2009). Indeed, never-marrieds are disproportionately Black, particularly among women (Kreider & Ellis, 2011). Immigrants are more likely to be married than the native-born (Brown, Van Hook, & Glick, 2008). Education is positively related to marriage and marital stability (Amato, 2010). Among unmarrieds, the widowed and divorced tend to report lower levels of education relative to the never-married (Barrett, 1999).
Economic Resources Unmarrieds are economically disadvantaged relative to marrieds (Holden & Kuo, 1996; Waite & Gallagher, 2000) and are more likely to rely on public assistance (Fuller-Thomson & Redmond, 2008). Unmarried groups differ in their levels of economic resources. Compared with the widowed and never-married, the divorced are more likely to be working and thus have higher household incomes and are less likely to rely on public assistance (Brown, Lee, & Bulanda, 2006). Widowhood is often associated with a decline in economic resources among women (Angel, Jiménez, & Angel, 2007).
Health The widowed are more likely to report having a disability than the divorced and never-married (Rendall, Weden, Favreault, & Waldron, 2011), not only because widowhood often occurs at later ages but also because caring for the deceased frequently takes a toll on the surviving spouse. Unmarried persons are less likely to have health insurance than married persons (Pollack & Kronebusch, 2004).
Household Composition and Living Arrangements In general, the widowed maintain stronger familial relationships than either the never-married or the divorced because marriage strengthens kinship ties and marital disruption due to spousal death is involuntary (Cooney & Dunne, 2001). Among those older than 50 years of age, the widowed are less likely to cohabit with a partner than either divorceds or never-marrieds (Brown et al., 2006), perhaps because the widowed usually perceive greater social support than divorced and never-marrieds (Pudrovska, Schieman, & Carr, 2006). Widow(er)s with more social support show less interest in engaging in new relationships than their counterparts with less social support (Carr, 2004).
Although prior research has shown that unmarrieds are disadvantaged relative to marrieds in terms of economic resources, health, and social integration, whether the same pattern also holds for the Baby Boom cohort remains unknown. Baby Boomers are a distinctive cohort characterized by higher average levels of education (Frey, 2010) and wealth accumulation (Keister & Deeb-Sossa, 2001) but poorer self-rated health (Martin et al., 2009; Soldo, Mitchell, Tfaily, & McCabe, 2007). At the same time, they are also unique in their lifestyle, embracing individualism and free spiritedness more than previous generations, which is consistent with the complex marital biographies of Boomers (Kreider & Ellis, 2011; Moody, 2008). These characteristics of the cohort as a whole may translate into smaller average differences between marrieds and unmarrieds. Still, we anticipate that Baby Boomers are not immune to the vulnerabilities associated with being unmarried. In light of the marital status diversity of the Boomer cohort, it is important to investigate whether unmarried Boomers are disadvantaged, whether various unmarried groups are more or less vulnerable than others, and whether these vulnerabilities are similar among women versus among men.
Thus, we address four research questions in the current investigation. First, "how has the share and marital status composition of unmarried middle-aged adults changed over the past three decades?" Recent evidence from the U.S. Census indicates that more Americans are unmarried today than in the past (Kreider & Ellis, 2011). Thus, we anticipate a steady rise in the share of middle-aged adults who are unmarried across cohorts. The marital status composition of unmarrieds is also likely to have shifted such that a declining share is widowed and rising shares are divorced or never-married.
Second, "are unmarried Boomers different from married Boomers in their demographic characteristics and are they more disadvantaged than married Boomers in terms of economic resources, health, and household composition and living arrangements?" Consistent with prior studies, we anticipate that unmarrieds are disproportionately women, younger, non-White, and native-born. They also are expected to have lower levels of education, on average. And, unmarried Boomers will report lower incomes and greater reliance on public assistance, will be more likely to have a disability and less likely to have health insurance, and will be especially likely to live alone.
Third, "to what extent do widowed, divorced, and never-married Boomers differ in each of these domains?" Based on prior research, we expect widowed Boomers to be disproportionately women, early Boomers (born between 1946–1955), and foreign-born. They are also more likely than divorced and never-married Boomers to report having a disability, reside in households of larger average size, and live in multigenerational households, but are less likely to cohabit with a partner. We anticipate that never-married Boomers are more likely to be late Boomers (born between 1956–1964), Black, educated, and living alone. Compared with widowed and never-married Boomers, divorced Boomers are more likely to be working, have higher household incomes, and are less likely to live in poverty and rely on public assistance.
Finally, "is the sociodemographic portrait of unmarrieds by marital status (i.e., widowed, divorced, and never-married) distinctive for women and men?" To what extent these patterns persist for women versus men is unclear as most prior studies focus on gender comparisons within each marital status rather than across different marital statuses among unmarrieds. As women are more likely than men to be widowed and men are more likely than women to be never-married, it is important to understand whether the heterogeneity among widoweds, divorceds, and never-marrieds operates similarly for women and men.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Purpose of the Study: Our study provides a national portrait of the Baby Boom generation, paying particular attention to the heterogeneity among unmarried Boomers and whether it operates similarly among women versus men.
Design and Methods: We used the 1980, 1990, and 2000 Census 5% samples and the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS) to document the trends in the share and marital status composition of the unmarried population during midlife. Using the 2009 ACS, we developed a sociodemographic portrait of Baby Boomers according to marital status.
Results: One in three Baby Boomers was unmarried. The vast majority of these unmarried Boomers were either divorced or never-married; just 10% were widowed. Unmarried Boomers faced greater economic, health, and social vulnerabilities compared to married Boomers. Divorced Boomers had more economic resources and better health than widowed and never-married Boomers. Widows appeared to be the most disadvantaged among Boomer women, whereas never-marrieds were the least advantaged among Boomer men.
Implications: The rise in unmarrieds at midlife leaves Baby Boomers vulnerable to the vagaries of aging. Health care and social service providers as well as policy makers must recognize the various risk profiles of different unmarried Boomers to ensure that all Boomers age well and that society is able to provide adequate services to all Boomers, regardless of marital status.
Introduction
Baby Boomers (born between 1946–1964) came of age during the dramatic upheaval of U.S. family life in the 1970s, a period characterized by delayed and forgone marriage, divorce rates that climbed to an all-time high, and the widespread emergence of unmarried family behaviors, including cohabitation and nonmarital childbearing (Cherlin, 2010). These diverse family life experiences earlier in the life course shape the current family circumstances of Boomers (Ferraro & Shippee, 2009), who are more likely than their parents' generation to be unmarried during midlife (Frey, 2010).
Unmarrieds are a vulnerable population who face considerable social disadvantages compared to marrieds. A key indicator of adult well-being, marital status has long been linked to economic resources, social integration, and health and mortality (Durkheim, 2006; Waite & Gallagher, 2000). The inequalities associated with marital status can accumulate over the life course (Dannefer, 2003; Ferraro & Shippee, 2009), and thus, unmarrieds could experience greater disadvantage with age. Indeed, marital status is one of the components of successful aging (Pruchno, Wilson-Genderson, Rose, & Cartwright, 2010). At the same time, unmarrieds have fewer resources to draw on than do marrieds (Roth, Haley, Wadley, Clay, & Howard, 2007), putting them at risk of lower health and well-being (Hughes & Waite, 2009; Johnson & Favreault, 2004) and potentially straining existing institutional mechanisms that support the aged (Martikainen et al., 2009).
Moreover, the composition of midlife unmarrieds has changed over the past few decades. The proportion of widowed middle-aged adults has decreased dramatically as life expectancy has increased (Kreider & Ellis, 2011). The shares of the population that are divorced have remained high over the past few decades because the divorce rate reached its peak in the early 1980s. Baby Boomers are the cohort most likely to have ever experienced divorce, and they also are the generation most likely to be currently divorced (Hughes & O'Rand, 2004). And, a growing share of unmarried middle-aged adults has never married. The proportion of adults aged 45–54 who are never-married increased 300% between 1986 and 2009 (Kreider & Ellis, 2011).
The wide-ranging vulnerabilities characterizing unmarrieds coupled with their changing marital status composition at midlife underscore the need for greater attention to variation in life circumstances, health, and well-being of unmarried Boomers. Studies of intimate relationships in later life often have ignored the heterogeneity among unmarrieds because the shares of divorced and never-married adults have been relatively small in prior cohorts (Choi, 1996). But, as the marital status composition of the midlife population shifts, it is important to decipher the heterogeneity among unmarrieds by comparing widowed, divorced, and never-married adults.
Thus, we provide a descriptive national portrait of the Baby Boom generation—married and unmarried—paying particular attention to the heterogeneity among unmarried Boomers. Specifically, we examine variation among widowed, divorced, and never-married Boomers. We also address whether this heterogeneity operates similarly for women versus men by comparing the three unmarried groups (i.e., widowed, divorced, and never-married) separately by gender. The marital status composition of unmarrieds varies by gender such that unmarried women are more likely to be widowed, whereas unmarried men are disproportionately never-married (Kreider & Ellis, 2011).
This study expands prior literature on Baby Boomers, which primarily has focused on either economic well-being or health (Madrian, Mitchell, & Soldo, 2007; Martin, Freedman, Schoeni, & Andreski, 2009; Mermim, Johnson, & Murphy, 2007), by addressing the role of marital status in the life circumstances of Boomers. We not only document the rise in unmarrieds among the middle-aged but also uncover the economic, health, and social vulnerabilities characterizing today's unmarried Boomers. With one in three Boomers currently unmarried, these vulnerabilities are likely to strain existing policies and programs, posing significant new challenges to institutional supports (Martikainen et al., 2009). As Boomers confront old age, society must be ready to respond to the unique challenges and needs of the growing population of unmarrieds.
Prior Research on Unmarried Adults
Research has consistently shown that unmarried individuals report worse physical and psychological well-being, on average, than married individuals (Dupre, Beck, & Meadows, 2009; Waite, 1995). Whether this association is actually causal or primarily due to selection is the subject of considerable debate (Nock, 2005) but beyond the scope of the current study, which is descriptive. Nonetheless, unmarrieds are disadvantaged relative to marrieds. Unmarrieds tend to have fewer economic resources, poorer health, and are less socially integrated than their married counterparts. What remains unclear is whether all unmarried adults are equally vulnerable regardless of marital status (i.e., widowed, divorced, or never-married) and whether these vulnerabilities are similar for women versus men. Subsequently we summarize the existing literature on how various types of middle-aged unmarrieds fare across four key domains: demographic characteristics, economic resources, health, and household composition and living arrangements. Then, we formulate expectations for how married and unmarried (including the widowed, divorced, and never-married) Baby Boomers will compare across these dimensions.
Demographic Characteristics Widoweds are disproportionately women, whereas never-marrieds are more likely to be men (Kreider & Ellis, 2011). Most widoweds are older and never-marrieds are younger because widowhood often occurs at a later stage of the life course and younger people are likely to stay single. Marriage is a luxury good which disadvantaged members of society are often unable to attain (Cherlin, 2009; Gibson-Davis, 2009). Indeed, never-marrieds are disproportionately Black, particularly among women (Kreider & Ellis, 2011). Immigrants are more likely to be married than the native-born (Brown, Van Hook, & Glick, 2008). Education is positively related to marriage and marital stability (Amato, 2010). Among unmarrieds, the widowed and divorced tend to report lower levels of education relative to the never-married (Barrett, 1999).
Economic Resources Unmarrieds are economically disadvantaged relative to marrieds (Holden & Kuo, 1996; Waite & Gallagher, 2000) and are more likely to rely on public assistance (Fuller-Thomson & Redmond, 2008). Unmarried groups differ in their levels of economic resources. Compared with the widowed and never-married, the divorced are more likely to be working and thus have higher household incomes and are less likely to rely on public assistance (Brown, Lee, & Bulanda, 2006). Widowhood is often associated with a decline in economic resources among women (Angel, Jiménez, & Angel, 2007).
Health The widowed are more likely to report having a disability than the divorced and never-married (Rendall, Weden, Favreault, & Waldron, 2011), not only because widowhood often occurs at later ages but also because caring for the deceased frequently takes a toll on the surviving spouse. Unmarried persons are less likely to have health insurance than married persons (Pollack & Kronebusch, 2004).
Household Composition and Living Arrangements In general, the widowed maintain stronger familial relationships than either the never-married or the divorced because marriage strengthens kinship ties and marital disruption due to spousal death is involuntary (Cooney & Dunne, 2001). Among those older than 50 years of age, the widowed are less likely to cohabit with a partner than either divorceds or never-marrieds (Brown et al., 2006), perhaps because the widowed usually perceive greater social support than divorced and never-marrieds (Pudrovska, Schieman, & Carr, 2006). Widow(er)s with more social support show less interest in engaging in new relationships than their counterparts with less social support (Carr, 2004).
The Current Study
Although prior research has shown that unmarrieds are disadvantaged relative to marrieds in terms of economic resources, health, and social integration, whether the same pattern also holds for the Baby Boom cohort remains unknown. Baby Boomers are a distinctive cohort characterized by higher average levels of education (Frey, 2010) and wealth accumulation (Keister & Deeb-Sossa, 2001) but poorer self-rated health (Martin et al., 2009; Soldo, Mitchell, Tfaily, & McCabe, 2007). At the same time, they are also unique in their lifestyle, embracing individualism and free spiritedness more than previous generations, which is consistent with the complex marital biographies of Boomers (Kreider & Ellis, 2011; Moody, 2008). These characteristics of the cohort as a whole may translate into smaller average differences between marrieds and unmarrieds. Still, we anticipate that Baby Boomers are not immune to the vulnerabilities associated with being unmarried. In light of the marital status diversity of the Boomer cohort, it is important to investigate whether unmarried Boomers are disadvantaged, whether various unmarried groups are more or less vulnerable than others, and whether these vulnerabilities are similar among women versus among men.
Thus, we address four research questions in the current investigation. First, "how has the share and marital status composition of unmarried middle-aged adults changed over the past three decades?" Recent evidence from the U.S. Census indicates that more Americans are unmarried today than in the past (Kreider & Ellis, 2011). Thus, we anticipate a steady rise in the share of middle-aged adults who are unmarried across cohorts. The marital status composition of unmarrieds is also likely to have shifted such that a declining share is widowed and rising shares are divorced or never-married.
Second, "are unmarried Boomers different from married Boomers in their demographic characteristics and are they more disadvantaged than married Boomers in terms of economic resources, health, and household composition and living arrangements?" Consistent with prior studies, we anticipate that unmarrieds are disproportionately women, younger, non-White, and native-born. They also are expected to have lower levels of education, on average. And, unmarried Boomers will report lower incomes and greater reliance on public assistance, will be more likely to have a disability and less likely to have health insurance, and will be especially likely to live alone.
Third, "to what extent do widowed, divorced, and never-married Boomers differ in each of these domains?" Based on prior research, we expect widowed Boomers to be disproportionately women, early Boomers (born between 1946–1955), and foreign-born. They are also more likely than divorced and never-married Boomers to report having a disability, reside in households of larger average size, and live in multigenerational households, but are less likely to cohabit with a partner. We anticipate that never-married Boomers are more likely to be late Boomers (born between 1956–1964), Black, educated, and living alone. Compared with widowed and never-married Boomers, divorced Boomers are more likely to be working, have higher household incomes, and are less likely to live in poverty and rely on public assistance.
Finally, "is the sociodemographic portrait of unmarrieds by marital status (i.e., widowed, divorced, and never-married) distinctive for women and men?" To what extent these patterns persist for women versus men is unclear as most prior studies focus on gender comparisons within each marital status rather than across different marital statuses among unmarrieds. As women are more likely than men to be widowed and men are more likely than women to be never-married, it is important to understand whether the heterogeneity among widoweds, divorceds, and never-marrieds operates similarly for women and men.
