Elder’s Marital Transition and Change in Living Arrangement: Intergenerational Coresidence or Nursing Home?

Ching-Yi A. Shieh, National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Change in marital status is a major life course event experienced by the older population. Using data from the 1998 to 2006 Health and Retirement Study, this project examines whether marital transition results in differing levels of need and adjustment in living arrangements for the population age 65 and older. Multivariate logit and discrete time hazard models controlling for elders’ demographic characteristics, family support, economic constraints, and health status are employed to examine the question. The analyses show that having the ability to work for pay is related to a higher propensity to co-reside with adult child regardless of the type of marital dissolution. Transition to widowhood and health deterioration significantly affect nursing home residence. All else being equal, divorce is not significantly associated with intergenerational co-residence or nursing home residence.