Using nationwide, 7-year population-based data for 1997-2003, we examined marital status to see if it predicted suicide among the ethnic Chinese population of Taiwan. Using cause of death data, with a case-control design, two groups--total adult suicide deaths, n = 17,850, the study group, and adult deaths other than suicide, n = 71,400 (randomly…

A decade ago we published a book reporting an extensive analysis of nationwide panel data from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) project showing impacts of post-high school experiences on substance use (Bachman, Wadsworth, O'Malley, Johnston, & Schulenberg, 1997). One of the most important findings was that various categories of marital status,…

Recent studies linking marital status and health increasingly focus on marital trajectories to examine the relationship from a life course perspective. However, research has been slow to bridge the theoretical concept of a marital trajectory with its measurement. This study uses retrospective and prospective data to model the age-dependent effects…

Widows (N=78) and widowers (N=41) were interviewed 13-16 months after they were widowed. An eight-item self-report measure of adjustment-depression was developed. The married were significantly better adjusted than the widowed. Widowers were significantly better adjusted than widows. (Author)

Compared cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses in a national sample of women widowed in mid-life. Longitudinal comparisons failed to demonstrate a significant decline in income or financial well-being upon the death of spouses. Data analysis indicated a major reliance on earnings of the widow and Social Security benefits. (Author/RC)