TY - JOUR
T1 - Singlehood during later life
T2 - Theoretical considerations for health and social relationships
AU - Ermer, Ashley E.
AU - Keenoy, Jaclyn Elisa
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 National Council for Family Relations.
PY - 2023/9
Y1 - 2023/9
N2 - Older adults are a growing segment of the population. The number of single older adults is increasing, making older adulthood a salient developmental period to examine singlehood. In this article, we focus on older adults' singlehood experiences based on marital status and delve into theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. Specifically, we focus on theories related to the life course and social constructionist perspectives. We include the cumulative advantage/disadvantage model, convalescence model, marital biographies, and social convoy model under life course perspectives and the gender as relational approach, ambiguous loss, and marriage as a greedy institution under social constructionist perspectives. To conclude, we examine how to integrate these theories and methodological considerations to better understand singlehood during later life. The integration of theory and methodologies can help guide research, which, in turn, allows for a more complete understanding of singlehood, which can bolster the quality of life for single older adults.
AB - Older adults are a growing segment of the population. The number of single older adults is increasing, making older adulthood a salient developmental period to examine singlehood. In this article, we focus on older adults' singlehood experiences based on marital status and delve into theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. Specifically, we focus on theories related to the life course and social constructionist perspectives. We include the cumulative advantage/disadvantage model, convalescence model, marital biographies, and social convoy model under life course perspectives and the gender as relational approach, ambiguous loss, and marriage as a greedy institution under social constructionist perspectives. To conclude, we examine how to integrate these theories and methodological considerations to better understand singlehood during later life. The integration of theory and methodologies can help guide research, which, in turn, allows for a more complete understanding of singlehood, which can bolster the quality of life for single older adults.
KW - divorce
KW - family and aging
KW - later life
KW - marriage
KW - singlehood
KW - transitions in families
KW - widowhood
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85162972581&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/jftr.12524
DO - 10.1111/jftr.12524
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85162972581
SN - 1756-2570
VL - 15
SP - 595
EP - 613
JO - Journal of Family Theory and Review
JF - Journal of Family Theory and Review
IS - 3
ER -