Partnerships and partnership dissolution in old age
Due to demographic change, the importance of the age group of oldest old persons is increasing for social research. Critical life events like the loss of the partner by separation or death often have crucial effects on a number of life domains of the surviving partners, e.g., for the health status, the economic situation or the chances of repartnering. However, these consequences are underexamined for the old age. Due to the increased need for care and the high rate of multimorbidity in old age, oldest old persons represent a vulnerable group. Compared to other age groups, the oldest old could therefore be particularly affected by the consequences of partnership dissolution.
In his PhD thesis, Stefan Mauritz examines how partnership arrangements are distributed in old age and what consequences result from their dissolution. First, he investigates the diversity of partnerships and the particular living arrangements that are common in old age. In a second step, he examines the consequences of spousal loss for the surviving partners with regard to their health status and their age identity. The empirical analyses are based on the representative survey "Quality of life and subjective well-being of the very old in North Rhine-Westphalia" (NRW80+, n=1,863).
Typology of lifestyles
