Assessed effects of widowhood, divorce, and lifelong singleness on income and evaluations of finances at two points, and investigated factors associated with satisfaction with level of living in old age. Analysis of data from two interviews with 2,047 older adults revealed that marital status affected economic circumstances and perceptions of…

Interviewed 1,496 urban and 553 rural older adults to examine how older unmarried persons spent time in formal, informal, and leisure activities. Found that urban women manifested most diverse social relationships and activities and rural men manifested the least. Data suggest that educational and intervention efforts should not ignore place of…

Used longitudinal data to investigate factors associated with evaluations of work, retirement, and well-being of 1,398 never-married, widowed, and divorced/separated men and women. Factors associated with evaluations tended to be similar across marital status. Formerly married women especially seemed to warrant attention of practitioners who plan…

Interviewed 136 female heads of households in rural Sri Lanka. Found that marital status figured more importantly than age in use of health services. Concludes that, as unmarried heads of households increase in less developed places, their demands for health care at the village level likely will escalate. (Author/NB)