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Life after Death. Widowhood and Volunteering gendered pathways among older adults
Danilo Bolano, Bruno Arpino

##manager.scheduler.building##: Velodromo - Bocconi University
##manager.scheduler.room##: N07
Date: 2019-01-26 09:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Last modified: 2018-12-26

Abstract


This study investigates gender and socio-demographic differences in pathways of volunteering before and after transition to widowhood among older adults in the United States.

Losing a spouse is one of the most traumatic events in the life course of an individual. The majority of the studies focused on physiological and mental distress resulting from spousal loss. Studies on behavioral changes have received less attention. Being socially active is a key predictor towards living longer and healthier lives and have positive effects on the society as a whole. This study investigate rate of adaptation and potential anticipatory effects on the propensity of volunteering before and during bereavement.

The sample consists of 4,037 older adults aged 50 and over who become widowed from 1996 to 2014. Drawing on micro longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, we use fixed effects models with lags and leads to identify pathways of volunteering

The results shows a decline in volunteering activities even before the death of the partner and then a slight process of adaptation and recovery. Sociodemographic factors influences such pathways. Women are strongly more resilient than men, and individuals with higher level of education are more likely to quick recovery after bereavement.


Keywords


Transition to Widowhood; Gender Differences; Volunteering; Longitudinal Data