Health in widowhood: The roles of social capital and economic resources
Health in widowhood: The roles of social capital and economic resources
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DOI：
10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112965
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发表时间：
2020-05-01
影响因子：
5.4
通讯作者：
Kung, Claryn S. J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Kung, Claryn S. J.
大量文献表明，丧偶与健康之间存在强烈的负面联系，但关于调节因素的纵向证据却好坏参半。本研究评估了在配偶死亡的情况下，预先存在的社会资本和财富在调节健康变化方面的作用。丧偶个体（n = 796）和匹配的已婚对照（n = 8233）的样本来自澳大利亚家庭，收入和劳动力动态调查（2001-2017）的17个连续波。个人层面的固定效应模型被用来估计配偶死亡前后身心健康的变化，并参考丧偶前两年多自己的健康状况。结果表明，在配偶死亡的那一年，身体健康状况会暂时改善，而在配偶死亡前两年，心理健康状况会开始下降，并在配偶死亡后持续两年。这项研究利用在配偶死亡前两年前观察到的社会资本（包括儿童、俱乐部会员资格或志愿服务状况以及社会关系），发现社会资本较高的丧偶者比资本较少的丧偶者表现出更差的心理健康状况。这种消极的调节作用在丧偶男性中比在丧偶女性中更为明显。相比之下，更多的财富，特别是来自非金融资产的财富，与男性更早的心理调整有关。对于女性来说，丧偶的心理健康状况没有表现出财富的差异。这些研究结果表明，社会资本可能不足以保护丧偶者的心理健康恶化，而寻求其他途径对不太富裕的人来说可能尤为重要。
A sizeable literature has demonstrated strong negative associations between widowhood and health, but longitudinal evidence on moderating factors has been mixed. This study assesses the roles of pre-existing social capital and wealth in moderating changes in health in the event of spousal death. Samples of widowed individuals (n = 796) and matched married controls (n = 8233) are employed from 17 consecutive waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (2001-2017). Individual-level fixed-effects models are used to estimate changes in physical and mental health before and after spousal death, in reference to one's own health more than two years before widowhood. Results show a temporary physical health improvement in the year of spousal death, and a decline in mental health beginning up to two years before spousal death, lasting up to two years after spousal death. Using social capital-from children, club membership or volunteering status, and social connections-observed earlier than two years before spousal death, this study finds that widowed individuals with higher social capital show poorer mental health than those with less capital. This negative moderating role is more marked among widowed males than females. In contrast, greater wealth, particularly from non-financial assets, is associated with earlier psychological adjustment among males. For females, mental health in widowhood shows little difference by wealth. These findings suggest that social capital may not be sufficient to protect deteriorations in mental health among widowed individuals, and that the pursuit of alternative avenues may be especially important among the less wealthy.