Marital Separation and Health Behaviors: Differences by Gender and Initiator Status

Andrea M Tilstra , University of Oxford
Nicole Kapelle, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin & Nuffield College

Marriage dissolution is a stressful and demanding transition. Stress levels associated with this trigger event can vary and lead to healthy or potentially unhealthy coping strategies. Considering the relevance of a “healthy lifestyle”, marital dissolution is an important site for understanding how health behaviors might change. In the present study, we address two research questions: (I) How do health behaviors—specifically smoking and drinking—change over the marital dissolution process, considering years prior to separation and after? (II) Do changes differ by (a) gender, and (b) who initiates the dissolution? Using longitudinal Australian data (2002-2020), we explore these questions using fixed-effects linear probability models. Preliminary results show dynamic, adverse changes in women’s and men’s health behaviors over the separation process. However, initiators show overall less severe increases in unhealthy behaviors. The results of this study have implications for public health interventions and policies aimed at supporting separating individuals.

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 Presented in Session P2. Health, Mortality, Ageing - Aperitivo