There are older married couples living in all parts of the United States. From Colorado to Florida, these people, just the same as everybody else, hope to remain healthy well into the future.
According to a new study by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, when the wife becomes seriously ill the chance of divorce among older couples increases. The study found that 31 percent of relationships ended in divorce during the time that the study took place. In 15 percent of these, the wife had become sick along the way.
One of the study’s researchers said, “If women become ill, they are more likely to get divorced.” The researchers took a closer look at data associated with 2,717 marriages spanning 20 years. At the time the couples were first interviewed, at least one partner in the relationship was 50 or older.
Many people realize that there are health consequences associated with going through divorce, but not everybody realizes that health can impact the risk of divorce. This is particularly true among baby boomers. The same researcher added, “What sets this study apart from similar studies is that it examines risk factors in the 50 and older population.”
With divorce among baby boomers rising over the past 20 years, this type of study shows that the health of the wife often contributes to a split.
There are many reasons for a divorce, and this study by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research brings new light to the fact that sickness could play a major factor.
Source: Fox News, “When wives get sick, risk of divorce rises, study says” Martta Kelly, May. 01, 2014