Living alone and psychological health in mid-life: the role of partnership history and parenthood status

Extended abstract for the XXVII International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) International Population Conference, submitted to session 03-02 " Life-course influences on health and mortality " Short abstract This study investigates how the psychological health of British men and women living alone in mid-life is related to partnership history and parenthood status. Although living alone in mid-life is known to be associated with poor health, and despite the substantial rise in living alone in mid-life over time, little attention has been paid to the relationship between living alone and health in mid-life. Previous research has mainly focussed on health outcomes by marital status and partnership history, but has failed to take into account that those who are either single or living without a partner could be living in very different living arrangements. This study stresses that partnership and parenthood trajectories into living alone in mid-life are diverse and that these life course trajectories are in turn related to health. It uses data from Understanding Society to examine how psychological health in mid-life of those living alone in the United Kingdom is related to several partnership characteristics and the presence of non-residential children. Preliminary findings show that several aspects of partnership history matter for psychological health in mid-life and that the relation between parenthood status and psychological health is gender-specific.