Unfortunately, it appears the length of marriage and intensity of relationship was not really covered.
"The “widowhood effect” – the tendency for married people to die in close succession – is accelerated when spouses don’t know each other’s friends well, new Cornell sociology research finds.
Analyzing the first longitudinal data detailing older adults’ social networks along with demographic and health measures, the researchers found that over a 10-year study period, the probability of death was five times greater among widows whose friends weren't close to their partner. ...
The data confirmed a “significant” widowhood effect. Controlling for age, gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, relationship quality and health, the risk of death in the next five years among study participants whose spouses died was nearly twice that of participants who remained married.
Prior research has identified physiological and social factors thought to contribute to the phenomenon. Some cases could involve heart failure resulting from stress hormones flooding the body, known as “broken heart syndrome” or “takotsubo syndrome.” Longer-term effects of grieving and social isolation could also play a role. In addition, couples sharing similar backgrounds and lifestyles may inevitably share similar health trajectories. ..."
From the abstract:
"Research on “the widowhood effect” shows that mortality rates are greater among people who have recently lost a spouse. There are several medical and psychological explanations for this (e.g., “broken heart syndrome”) and sociological explanations that focus on spouses’ shared social-environmental exposures. We expand on sociological perspectives by arguing that couples’ social connections to others play a role in this phenomenon. Using panel data on 1,169 older adults from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, we find that mortality is associated with how well embedded one’s spouse is in one’s own social network. The widowhood effect is greater among those whose spouses were not well connected to one’s other network members. We speculate that the loss of a less highly embedded spouse signals the loss of unique, valuable, nonredundant social resources from one’s network. We discuss theoretical interpretations, alternative explanations, limitations, and directions for future research."
“I Love You to Death”: Social Networks and the Widowhood Effect on Mortality (no public access)
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