Finding Love After Loss: Remarriage in Later Life

Kathryn Coursolle, University of California, Los Angeles

Although a number of scholars argue that the benefits to marriage may tend to change over the life course, remarkably little is known about patterns of remarriage in later life. This study will take advantage of three waves of data from the National Survey of Families and Households to examine patterns of remarriage in the later life course. First, we plan to document patterns of remarriage for individuals over age 45. Next, we will use Cox proportional hazard models to examine the determinants of remarrying. Throughout the analysis, particular attention will be paid to potential variation in the process of remarriage by gender and by route into later-life singlehood (divorce vs. widowhood).