Socioeconomic Differences in Bereavement across the Life Course: A Cohort Study

Linus Andersson
Isaac Sasson, Tel Aviv University
Alyson A. Van Raalte, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)
Diego Alburez-Gutierrez, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

The death of a family and kin-member is a near-ubiquitous human experience with detrimental and potentially lasting effects on one’s social and psychological wellbeing. Mortality decline in rich countries has made this experience more predictable throughout the life course, but there is considerable variation in the patterns of bereavement across socioeconomic strata. In this study we propose a new framework to conceptualize the burden of bereavement with respect to intensity and predictability. Drawing on prior literature on mortality inequalities and the demography of kinship, we further examine how the burden of bereavement is shaped by differences in exposure to mortality among kin and differences in kin network (size and age structure). We apply our approach to the Swedish population. Using register data, we reconstruct a genealogy of four generations for the 1973 birth cohort and measure age-specific cumulated counts and risk ratios of kin bereavement across income quartiles of this index cohort. We decompose income differences in bereavement into a mortality rate component and a kinship age-and size component. We find that there is a marked negative income gradient in the number of kin members who had died, and that low-income individuals are more likely to experience the death of parents, siblings, cousins, and children early in life. This study contributes to the understanding of social inequalities in bereavement over the life course, and points to the intricate ways in which interrelated demographic processes shape those inequalities.

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 Presented in Session 5. Kinship Demography: Mortality Risks, Inequalities and Longevity.