Centre for Policy on Ageing



Effects of own and spousal disability on loneliness among older adults
Author(s)	Marga Korporaal, Marjolein I Broese van Groenou, Theo G van Tilburg
Journal title	Journal of Aging and Health, vol 20, no 3, April 2008
Pages	pp 307-325
Source	http://www.sagepublications.com
Keywords	Loneliness ; Isolation ; Physical disabilities ; Health [elderly] ; Husbands ; Wives ; Social surveys ; Netherlands.
Annotation	As part of the Dutch 1992 community study Living Arrangements and Social Networks of Older Adults, linear regression was used to analyse data for 710 men and 379 women aged 65+ who had a partner. For men, only their wives' disability was related to higher levels of social loneliness, whereas for women mainly their own disability was related to higher levels of social loneliness. Own disability and spousal disability were related to higher levels of emotional loneliness for both men and women. Effects of disability remained unaffected after controlling for characteristics of the social network and the marital relationship. Findings underscore the importance of considering effects of both spouses' health on measures of individual well-being. Also, the traditional division of social roles makes older married men relatively vulnerable to social loneliness when their wives suffer from disability. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-080609003 A
Classmark	DV: TP: BN: CC: SNA: SNW: 3F: 76H
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.