Gendered Pathways of Life Satisfaction Around Spousal Loss: The Role of Care.

Lucia Zanotto , Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna
Chiara Ludovica Comolli, University of Bologna
Roberto Impicciatore, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna

Spousal bereavement, a disruptive life event with profound implications for well-being in later life, is the focus of this study, which investigates trajectories of life satisfaction with particular attention to the role of caregiving. Using longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004–2020), we estimate mixed-effects linear models separately for men and women, controlling for caregiving, age, education, and country. Results show a sharp decline in life satisfaction immediately after spousal death. Notably, anticipatory declines occur among caregivers, especially women, whose life satisfaction decreases significantly in the semesters preceding widowhood. These findings suggest that the burden of caregiving weighs most heavily before spousal loss, while differences between caregivers and non-caregivers diminish thereafter.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session P6. Health, Mortality, and Ageing 2